Green Curry Paste

greencurrypaste Curry paste is a concentrated, flavour-packed mixture of ground fresh and dried spices, aromatics like garlic and lemongrass, and chili peppers, blended with oil or coconut milk. It serves as a versatile, foundational ingredient in many Asian cuisines, particularly Thai, where it is the base for curries but also used in stir-fries, marinades and other dishes. The type of curry paste, such as red, green, or yellow, depends on its unique blend of ingredients, which determines its flavour profile, colour and heat level. The following is our inspired (but not traditional) plant-based version, using ingredients that are easier to find in North America.

Spices:
1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
½ Tbsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. white peppercorns or ½ tsp. white pepper, freshly ground

Fresh Green Chiles:
4-12 bird's eye green chile peppers, such as Thai chile peppers, stems removed
1-2 jalapeño peppers, membranes removed and stems removed

Aromatics and Herbs:
4 stalks lemongrass, minced (~ 15 g)
1½" (4 cm) piece galangal, sliced (~ 15 g)
2 medium shallots, peeled
8 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tbsp. cilantro roots or stems, freshly chopped
4 fresh makrut lime leaves, folded in half and middle rib removed
20 Thai basil leaves

Other Ingredients:
1½ tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. white miso paste (aka shiro miso)
1 dried shiitake mushroom, grated with a microplane, for extra umami
2 Tbsp. neutral-flavoured oil

Toast the Spices:
Heat a small or medium frying pan over medium heat. Once warm, add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and white peppercorns (if using) and toast until darker in colour and fragrant. Transfer to a bowl to stop cooking and cool. While the spices cool, prep your chiles, aromatics and herbs.

For the smoothest texture: grind the cooled whole spices using an electric spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Cook's Note: If you can't grind the spices before blending, the flavour is still great but the finished curry will have a less uniformly smooth texture.

For lemongrass, slice off the top green stalks, the tough bottom nub and peel away several layers of papery peel until you reach the tender inner white core (it should be soft and bendy). If you have a rolling pin or mallet, use it to smash down on the lemongrass to release more aroma.

For the stand blender option: chop lemongrass (no need to chop finely).

For the immersion blender option or mortar and pestle: mince the lemongrass or grate it using a grater or microplane.

For galangal: use a sharp knife and cut off any hard knobs. Angle your knife as needed so you don’t cut through the root. No need to peel.

For the stand blender option: slice or chop the galangal.

For the immersion blender option or mortar and pestle: slice galangal very thinly.

Blend the curry paste using either method below:

If you want to taste the curry paste when it's done blending, taste just a tiny amount because it will be spicy. Add a bit more salt, as needed (it should taste salty).

High-Powered Stand Blender Instructions:

You must have a high-powered blender with a small capacity blender (32 oz / 1 L or smaller).

If your container is 48 oz, you need to double the ingredients; if it’s 64 oz (2 L) or larger, triple the quantity.

Prep lemongrass and galangal using the instructions above. Grate the dried shiitake mushroom. You can leave the other herbs and aromatics whole.

First, add the oil to the blender so it coats the blades. Now add the remaining ingredients: chile peppers, toasted (ground) spices, lemongrass, galangal, shallots, garlic, cilantro roots or stems, lime leaves, Thai basil, salt, miso and grated shiitake mushroom.

Start blending on low, using the blender’s tamper to push everything down (make sure the blender lid is on when using the tamper).

Stop the machine and use a silicone spatula to scrape everything down a few times. Don’t stick your face right over the curry paste, as it’s spicy and can make your eyes water.

Gradually increase the speed to high, using the tamper to go up and down constantly. It should be smooth and look almost like puréed avocado by the end.

Immersion Blender:

Prep lemongrass and galangal using the instructions above. Grate the dried shiitake mushroom.

Finely chop the chile peppers, galangal, shallots, garlic, cilantro roots or stems and lime leaves. Tear the Thai basil leaves.

Add the above ingredients to a wide-mouth mason jar or similar jar large enough to fit your immersion blender. Add the toasted, ground spices, salt and miso.

Now pour the oil on top of the ingredients. Place the immersion blender on top of the ingredients and push down to the bottom. Lift up and using a spatula, scrape all the ingredients together again.

Repeat this process until smooth; it will take several rounds and several minutes, so keep going. Don’t stick your face right over the curry paste, as it’s spicy and can make your eyes water.

Makes 1 cup (230 g).

Cook's Notes:

The prep/cook time is based on using a small-capacity high-powered blender, which is the quickest method. Using an immersion blender takes some more time since you have to finely chop the ingredients. Using a mortar and pestle is the traditional method can take 1-2 hours to pound.
Don’t have whole spices? Use 2 tsp. ground coriander and 1 tsp. ground cumin.
Tailor the chiles to your heat level preference. You want to use a total of 40-50 g (1.5 oz) of green chiles.
- Spicy version: 8-12 bird’s eye chile peppers + 1 jalapeño, membranes removed.
- Mild version: 2-3 jalapeños (most membranes removed) + ½ small green bell pepper.
- Moderate heat: 4-6 bird’s eye chile peppers + 2 jalapeños, membranes removed.
It’s important that you only use only the tender inner core and no papery, tough pieces; otherwise, the paste will be a little gritty. The usable part will be quite small compared to the rest of stalk).
If you have an Asian market, they should sell galangal. If all you have is ginger, you can use that, though different in flavour. Or, look for frozen sliced galangal at Asian markets.
Cilantro roots (white in colour) are traditionally used, but hard to find. Use the green stems from the bottom of the bunch of cilantro instead.
Makrut lime leaves are also called kaffir lime leaves, though I try to avoid that term as it’s an unrelated racial slur. They’re sold at Southeast Asian grocers. You can omit them in this curry paste if needed, but I highly recommend adding them to the curry. Sometimes, they’re sold in a bunch with sharp thorns attached, so beware.
Oil is not traditional but necessary when using an electric machine. If using a mortar and pestle, skip it.