Red Curry Paste (Thai)

thai-redcurrypaste Make your own authentic Thai Red Curry Paste at home from scratch. With just a few minutes of prep time, you will have countless options for Thai Red Curry dishes any day of the week. Thai Red Curry Paste is smoky, spicy and earthy. It is best for red curry with chicken, pork or seafood.

15-20 dried red chili (~ 2 cups)
2 fresh red chilies, cut into ½" pieces, seeds removed
3 stalks lemongrass, only the white portion, sliced
5 cloves garlic, peeled
4 small shallots, peeled
1" galangal or ginger, freshly grated
3 stalks cilantro
3 kaffir lime leaves, julienned
1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
2 tsp. ground cumin
2 tsp. white peppercorns
1 tsp. Thai shrimp paste, optional but recommended
1 cup water

Soak the dried red chilies in warm water for 30 minutes. Remove soaked chilies from the water, cut into 1" pieces. Remove the seeds as you cut the chilies.

Place cut chilies into a blender or food processor, along with fresh red chilies, lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallots, cilantro, kaffir lime leaves, coriander seeds, cumin, white peppercorns and Thai shrimp paste (if using).

Pulse it a few times, then slowly add about a Tbsp. of water at a time to blend the ingredients to a paste. As soon as you get the consistency you want, stop adding water.

Makes 1 cup.