Thai Curry Paste, Red and Green

Amazingly fragrant,  super spicy and a bit tart, for Thai food lovers curry paste doesn’t need any introduction. When added to sauces, soups, dumpling fillings and patties mixtures, it makes their flavor brighter and more sophisticated. And you know what, Thai curries can be used not only for Thai dishes. One of my favorite pasta dishes is sweet potato or yams stuffed ravioli in cream and Thai green curry sauce.

It’s undoubtedly easier to buy a commercially made curry paste than make your own. Like Thai Kitchen curry pastes that can be found almost in every store these days. Their red and green curry pastes are very smooth and have deep, bright color and good taste. They may look more beautiful than a coarser and paler homemade version, but looks can be deceptive. Homemade curry paste is much more aromatic and, the best thing is, you can adjust its flavor and heat to fit your own taste. Another important moment is that unlike many commercial products homemade curry paste has no artificial flavor or color enhancing ingredients. Does that sound convincing enough?

If yes, for Red Curry paste you will need:

• 35-38 dried hot Thai or Japanese chilies, seeded, about 0.5 oz without seeds
• 1-2 shallots, peeled, about 2.5 oz
• 4-5 large cloves of garlic, peeled
• 2 lemon grass stalks, white part only, tough outer layer(s) removed (about 0.7 oz and 7-8 inches total)
• 1-1.3 oz of galangal, peeled
• 6-7 kaffir lime leaves
• ¼ tsp of ground coriander
• ¾ tsp of ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce 
• 5-6 cilantro sprigs
• ½ tsp of Salt or to taste
• 2 Tbsp peanut or Canola oil 

Cut the stem end off the peppers (kitchen scissors are your friends) and cut them open. Shake off the seeds. You may leave some seeds for extra spiciness if you wish. Soak the peppers in hot water for about 30 minutes or until they become tender.

Peel and coarsely chop shallots, garlic and galangal. Slice the soft inner layers of lemon grass. Slice the lime leaves. If they are large, their central stem can be tough and needs to be removed.

If using whole coriander and cumin seeds, toast them in a skillet on a medium heat stirring or tossing frequently, let cool a bit and grind into a powder in a spice mill, coffee grinder (the one you use only for spices) or with a mortar and pestle.

Traditionally, curry paste is ground with a mortar and pestle. I find it faster and no worse taste-n-texture-wise to use a food processor or even in a blender. Put all the ingredients in a food processor or a blender and pulse until desired consistency. If the paste turns out too thick, add some more oil.

Transfer the paste into an airtight container and store in a refrigerator. It can last for a couple of weeks there or even longer. Freeze the rest for later use. I put mine into an ice cube tray and when it gets frozen, transfer the cubes into a freezer-proof Ziploc bag. In the freezer, the paste can be stored for at least a year.

For Green Curry paste you will need:

• 5 oz fresh serrano chilies
• 1-2 shallots (about 2.5 oz)
•  6 big cloves of garlic
• 2 lemon grass stalks, white part only, tough outer layer(s) removed (about 7-8 inches total)
• 1-1.3 oz of galangal, peeled
• 6-7 kaffir lime leaves 
• ¼ tsp of ground coriander
• ¾ tsp of ground cumin
• 1 Tbsp fish sauce  
• 10-12 cilantro srpigs 
• ½ tsp of Salt or to taste
• 3 Tbsp peanut or Canola oil

Cut off the stems and divide each pepper in half. Scrape out the seeds. Serranos are quite hot so you might want to wear gloves when handling them. Put all the ingredients into a food processor and pulse until smooth. Add more oil if needed. If the peppers give water, put the paste into a sieve and drain the liquid.