Thai Red Curry Paste

Name: Thai Red Curry Paste
Prep time: 25 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 15 dried red Thai chiles or dried red chiles, stemmed, soaked; 2 lemongrass stalks, tender parts only, sliced; 2 inches fresh galangal or ginger (substitute), peeled, sliced; 6 kaffir lime leaves (or zest of 1 lime); 4 shallots, roughly chopped; 6 garlic cloves, peeled; 1/4 cup fresh cilantro stems and roots, roughly chopped; 2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted; 1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted; 1/2 tsp white pepper; 1 tsp kosher salt; 1/4 cup neutral oil

A fragrant homemade curry paste built from dried red chiles, lemongrass, galangal, and kaffir lime, far more vibrant than any store-bought version and the foundation for countless Thai dishes.

25 minMediumServes 1270 cal/serving

ThaiSauceBlenderVeganPaleoWhole30Low CarbGluten-FreeNut-FreeDairy-FreeSoy-FreeEgg-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeCorn-Free

Cook this free in the appFree. No download, no account. The screen stays awake and each step can run its own timer.

Ingredients

15 dried red Thai chiles or dried red chiles, stemmed, soaked
2 lemongrass stalks, tender parts only, sliced
2 inches fresh galangal or ginger (substitute), peeled, sliced
6 kaffir lime leaves (or zest of 1 lime)
4 shallots, roughly chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 cup fresh cilantro stems and roots, roughly chopped
2 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
1 tsp cumin seeds, toasted
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup neutral oil

Instructions

1

Place 15 stemmed, soaked dried red Thai chiles or dried red chiles in a bowl, cover with hot water, and soak for 20 minutes until fully softened. Drain well and roughly chop.
2

Toast 2 tsp coriander seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant. Let cool slightly.
3

Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender or food processor: rehydrated chiles, 2 tender parts only, sliced lemongrass stalks, 2 inches peeled, sliced fresh galangal or ginger (substitute), 6 kaffir lime leaves (or zest of 1 lime), 4 roughly chopped shallots, 6 peeled garlic cloves, 1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro stems and roots, toasted spices, 1/2 tsp white pepper, and 1 tsp kosher salt.
4

Add 1/4 cup neutral oil and blend on high, scraping down the sides every 30 seconds, until a smooth paste forms. This may take 3 to 5 minutes depending on your blender.
5

Taste and adjust salt. Use immediately or store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks, or freeze in tablespoon-sized portions for up to 3 months.

Cook this free in the appCooking it now? The app keeps the screen awake and times each step. Free, nothing to install.

Keep this recipe

Prints the ingredients and method only.

The Thai Kitchen 30 recipes from this kitchen in one printable PDF. $5, no account.

Questions

How much time should I plan for Thai Red Curry Paste?

As written, 25 minutes: 25 of prep and 0 of cooking. The longest single stretch is the hands-off wait in step 1, 20 minutes.

Why cook the spices first in Thai Red Curry Paste?

Step 2 reads: "Toast 2 tsp coriander seeds and 1 tsp cumin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant." Most spice flavor dissolves in fat, not water. The brief fry in step 2 wakes the spices up and spreads them through the oil. Keep them moving; they scorch in seconds.

What can I use instead of galangal in Thai Red Curry Paste?

The entry for Thai Red Curry Paste calls for 2 inches fresh galangal or ginger (substitute), peeled, sliced. In its place: Fresh ginger with a little lime zest is the workable substitute. Galangal is more piney and peppery, so the result reads slightly different.

Is Thai Red Curry Paste spicy?

Yes, it is properly hot. The heat in Thai Red Curry Paste comes from 15 dried red Thai chiles or dried red chiles, stemmed, soaked. For a milder plate, remove the seeds and ribs from the dried chiles, or use half; nothing else in the method changes. For more, add it at the table rather than in the pot, so everyone sets their own level.

Is Thai Red Curry Paste keto-friendly?

A serving of Thai Red Curry Paste carries 8 g of carbohydrate, 1 g of it fiber. Against a strict 20 g keto day that is 40 percent of the budget; against a moderate 100 g low-carb day it is 8 percent.

How many carbs are in Thai Red Curry Paste?

One serving (the recipe makes 12) has 8 g of carbohydrate in about 70 calories, with 2 g protein and 5 g fat, plus 1 g fiber and 220 mg sodium. The figures are estimates computed from the ingredient list.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,544 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.