How to Make Thai Style Green Curry Paste

The bold flavors and unexpected combinations used in Thai cooking makes this cuisine attractive to anybody with adventurous tastebuds. Many Thai dishes rely on a substance called curry paste, which is used with coconut milk in a variety of beef, chicken, seafood and noodle dishes. You can make green curry paste from fresh ingredients in about ten minutes.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 4 or 5 serrano peppers.
• 1 tablespoon toasted coriander seeds or ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon toasted cumin seeds or ground cumin
• 1 green bell pepper
• 1/2 medium-sized onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon shrimp paste
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 teaspoon lemongrass
• 1-inch piece of ginger
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon of cloves, crushed or ground
• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, crushed or ground
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of peanut or sesame oil
• Food processor or blender

1. Chop up any ingredients that your food processor can't handle.
2. Put all of the ingredients except the oil into a food processor and puree until you have a fairly smooth blend. A few chunks are inevitable, but the green mixture should have a consistency more like spaghetti sauce than salsa.
3. Briskly stir in the oil a little bit at a time until you have a thick, smooth paste. You can do this step by hand or keep it in the food processor on a lower setting. You can use the curry paste right out of the food processor, or you can freeze it. It should be safe to use from a frozen state for 4 or 5 weeks.

Tips & Warnings

• The best part of making your own Thai-style curry paste isn't the brighter green color or the fresher smell. It's the opportunity to customize the flavor. Don't like cloves? Leave them out. Love garlic? Add more.
• Feel free to sprinkle in ingredients that aren't even listed here. A dash of soy sauce or oyster sauce instead of salt may make your curry paste taste a little more “Asian.” Crushed red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon and oregano also make fine additions.