Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe

Bowl of bright Thai green curry paste, freshly made.

Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe

Feel accomplished making your very own authentic Thai green curry paste. This recipe couldn't be simpler - toast and grind aromatic spices, then throw it all in a blender. Move over store-bought - this is batchable, freezable and ready in 15 minutes.

Course Condiment, Curry

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 3

Total Time 13

Servings curry bases

Calories 67kcal

Author Wandercooks

Cost $20

Ingredients

2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
3 lemongrass white stems only, chopped into chunks
2.5 cm galangal fresh, sub ginger
3 cm turmeric fresh, sub 3 tsp turmeric powder
2 tsp Thai makrut / kaffir lime zest grated, sub regular lime
4 coriander root chopped
6 Thai makrut / kaffir lime leaves
5 large green chillies fresh and deseeded
5 small green chillies fresh and deseeded (medium spice level), such as bird's eye
¼ cup coriander leaves around 30
¼ cup Thai basil leaves around 20
5 shallots or ½ red onion, whole or sliced in half for larger ones
10 garlic whole cloves
2 tsp shrimp paste sub fish sauce or 1 tsp salt / fysh sauce for vegan
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

For toasting the spices

Dry toast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and black peppercorns in a small frying pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Move the spices around constantly for an even toast.
2 tbsp coriander seeds, 2 tbsp cumin seeds, 1 tbsp black peppercorns
Pour into a mortar and pestle and grind into powder (or use a nut and spice / coffee grinder).

For making the paste in a blender

Start with the biggest ingredients first. Place your large green chillies, small green chillies and shallots into the blender.
5 large green chillies, 5 shallots, 5 small green chillies
Pulse until chopped fine for around 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides using a spoon or spatula.
Next add the galangal (or ginger), lemongrass, garlic, coriander roots and Thai makrut / kaffir lime leaves. Pulse for another 10 seconds and scrape down again.
3 lemongrass, 2.5 cm galangal, 4 coriander root, 10 garlic, 6 Thai makrut / kaffir lime leaves
Now it’s time to add your vegetable oil to help it turn into paste. On top, add in the coriander leaves, Thai basil leaves, Thai makrut / kaffir lime zest and shrimp paste. Pulse and scrape down again, then blend until you see the paste start to churn itself and get smoother, around 10-15 seconds.
2 tsp Thai makrut / kaffir lime zest, ¼ cup coriander leaves, ¼ cup Thai basil leaves, 2 tsp shrimp paste, 2 tbsp vegetable oil
To finish, pour in your turmeric powder and toasted and ground spices. Stir into the paste slightly to avoid it spraying everywhere. Blend for 5-10 seconds until completely mixed through your paste. Scrape down and blend one last time for 5 seconds and you’re ready to go!
3 cm turmeric
Use immediately as a base for your Thai green curry, or portion it out into 2 tbsp chunks and freeze, so you can grab them whenever you need. It’ll also last in the fridge in an airtight container for around two weeks.

Video

Notes

Top Tip: Sometimes the hardest part about making green curry paste from scratch is finding the ingredients! If you can’t get them at your local supermarket, check out your nearest Asian grocery store.
Food Processor Tip - Add Oil – If your food processor is struggling to get through the herbs and spices, you can add a drizzle of vegetable oil to help get things moving and chopping properly. Pause between pulses and use a spoon to push ingredients down closer to the blades if they’re starting to rise too high around the edges of the food processor bowl.
Mortar & Pestle Tip 1 - Chop Finely - Chopping all your fresh herbs and chillies as finely as possible before popping them in the mortar and pestle will make things SO much easier and quicker. That way you’ll end up with a creamy smooth-textured paste at the end, with half the effort.
Mortar & Pestle Tip 2 - Sit With It - Place the mortar on the floor and sit cross legged beside it. Yep! This will give you maximum power and assistance from gravity. Grab your pestle and hold it with your thumb pressed on the top. Then bang away, letting the pestle fall with a flick of your wrist. You actually need less effort here than you think – just let gravity do all the work for you! Meanwhile use a spoon to scoop the ingredients back down into the centre well of the mortar.
Toasting Spices Before Grinding – This helps release all the fragrant potential of the spices. You can skip it if you really don’t want to toast them first (but for the flavour it adds, it’s well worth it!).

Nutrition