Thai Red Curry Paste

Makes approx 6 heaped tbsp

I have no qualms about using a shop-bought curry paste and I’ve normally got one or two tubs in my fridge from one of my trips to the Asian Supermarket in Bristol. In Thailand a popular brand is Mae Ploy, and you can pick a tub up (probably in your local supermarket) for just a couple of quid.

So whilst I will normally use a ready-made paste, occasionally I will make my own. Here is a recipe that can easily be whizzed up in a food processor (or for the more authentic experience it should be pounded in a pestle and mortar for a long time).

Now, you can up (or down) the chilli as you see fit. This is certainly not as hot as many but I think it has a decent kick. In order to achieve a redder colour you could add some tomato purée or include a red pepper in your paste.

• Ingredients:
• 3 shallots, peeled and quartered
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
• 2 sticks of lemon grass, topped and tailed, cut into 1 inch pieces
• 3 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 red chillies, de-stalked, seeds left in and roughly chopped
• 30g coriander (including stalks)
• 1 (kaffir) lime, zest only
• 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 2 tsp ground white pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander

Step 1: Blitz all ingredients in a food processor. If necessary, do so in batches and bring together at the end for a final few pulses of the machine. Alternatively you could use a pestle and mortar to crush the ingredients together.

Note that I have not included any salt. If you are doing this in a pestle and mortar you would want to add some salt to act as an abrasive to help break down the ingredients. I choose to add my salt during the cooking process, especially if I am adding fish sauce to the curry as this will provide a lot of the necessary saltiness. If you want a looser paste, a little water could be added to help things along.

Any unused paste can be frozen (I do so in little pots) that can then be whipped out as and when.