Thai food series: Green Curry Paste recipe

We learned the recipe for green curry paste when we were staying in Phuket in Miss Chel’s Thai Cooking Class. For our review of the class, check out this post.

The green curry (gaeng kheow wan gai) is a very popular curry in Thailand and it is widespread along the country. It is definitely much easier to just buy the curry paste, because it skips the most complicated step of the recipe and it is the best one if we lack time or will to make an effort. However, for special occasions, I would go ahead and make the curry paste myself, since it tastes more fresh and balanced, the way it should be in Thailand.

Ingredients

• 1/2 tsp. whole white peppercorns, roasted.
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted.
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds, roasted.
• 40 green bird’s eye chilies.
• 5 green spur chillies.
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt.
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped mature galangal.
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, outer layers discarded, bottom thirds only, finely sliced and fibrous cores removed.
• 1 teaspoon of kaffir lime zest.
• A small bunch of cilantro (with stalk and roots!).
• 30 cloves Thai garlic, peeled.
• 3 shallots, peeled and finely sliced.
• 2 teaspoons Thai shrimp paste, grilled for aroma.

How to make Green Curry Paste

1. Finely grind white peppercorns, coriander seeds and cumin seeds using a heavy mortar and pestle. Spoon it into a bowl and set aside.
2. Grind both kinds of chillies and add salt to smooth paste. Gradually add the galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime zest, cilantro (one chopped plant at a time), pounding to blend well.
3. Finally add the shrimp paste and ground dried spices (first step), pounding until smooth.

It is a relatively simple recipe, with the difficulty of finding the right ingredients in some regions of the world. Try it in our Chicken Green Curry recipe!

You can book your class with Miss Chel in her website and find more recipes in this post:

→ Thai food: Miss Chel’s thai cooking class in Phuket

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