Thai Green Curry Paste

This is the magical flavor bomb at the core of green curry's bright flavor. It takes about a half hour of pounding, but I promise it's worth every second.

A traditional green curry paste is extremely spicy due to the Thai chilis. If you're heat-averse, feel free to sub in a milder chili such as serrano, jalapeño, or even green bell pepper. We don't fuck with gatekeeping in food — what's important is that you enjoy it.

Yield

~200g

Time

About 30

Ingredients

120gThai green chilis80gshallot20ggarlic20ggalangal10gcoriander root (optional)5gshrimp paste (optional)5gsalt5gblack peppercorn2 stalkslemongrass

Instructions

1Prep

Mortar and pestles are terribly inefficient at breaking down things like chili skins and long fibers. I tend to slice most of my ingredients, but you could totally just blitz all the ingredients with an immersion blender before grinding (careful with the chilis though... they'll throw juice into the air).

Clean, trim, and slice all vegetables finely.

2Grind

The chilis are the hardest to grind due to the skins and seeds. Make sure everything in the mortar is homogenous before moving onto the next step, because it'll be even harder to grind later.

120gThai green chili80gshallot20ggarlic20ggalangal10gcoriander root5gshrimp paste (optional)5gsalt5gblack peppercorn2 stalkslemongrass

In this order, add your ingredients to the mortar and pestle and fully grind before each addition: chilis and salt, black peppercorn, lemongrass and coriander root, galangal, shallot and garlic.

Once all the veg are fully combined and smooth, add in your shrimp paste and stir together.

3Use/Store

This recipe makes enough for about 8 individual servings of curry. I use about 50g per can of coconut milk as a general rule.

You can use it immediately or store it. It'll last about a week in the fridge or indefinitely in the freezer. If freezing, spread it out thinly in a freezer bag so you can easily thaw it or break off pieces.