Recipes

Basic Red Curry Paste

Phrik Kaeng Khua

The shared herb foundation — lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime — behind most Thai red curry pastes

Prep

60 min

Serves

4

Heat

mild

This paste is really the common ancestor of most Thai red curries, built from the same lemongrass, galangal, garlic, shallot, coriander root, and kaffir lime that show up in Massaman, Panang, and the hotter Prik Kaeng Ped alike. What differentiates each curry from this shared starting point is the specific toasted dry spices added afterward, which is why this base by itself, with no cumin or coriander seed mixed in, is sometimes called a curry base and used directly for milder dishes like Choo Chee. Grinding by hand, one ingredient at a time from hardest to softest, takes real patience, but it's what produces the distinct fleck of color and texture that separates a homemade paste from anything bought in a bag.

Ingredients

• 5-6 Sun-dried Thai chilies (seeded, cut into small pieces)
• 4 tablespoons Lemongrass (bottom portion, sliced very thin)
• 2 tablespoons Galangal (peeled, cut into very small pieces)
• 5 tablespoons Red shallots (peeled, cut into very small pieces)
• 1 tablespoon Coriander root (cleaned, cut very small)
• 1 tablespoon Kaffir lime zest (finely grated)
• 3 tablespoons Garlic (peeled, cut into very small pieces)
• 1 teaspoon Thai shrimp paste
• 2 teaspoons Salt

Directions

1. Cut the dried chilies open with scissors and remove the seeds, then cut into small pieces.
2. Finely grate the kaffir lime zest until you have about a tablespoon.
3. Clean and peel the galangal, garlic, and shallots, cutting each into very small pieces. Slice the bottom of the lemongrass stalks very thin. Clean the coriander roots well and cut very small. Have everything measured and ready before grinding.
4. Using a mortar and pestle, grind the dried chilies together with the salt until you have a fine powder — this is the hardest part, but worth the effort for texture. A grinder or food processor can speed this step, but finishing by hand in the mortar gives the best result.
5. Add the lemongrass to the ground chili and grind until you have a dark red pulp with a texture like wet sawdust.
6. Add the galangal and grind until no white pieces remain visible.
7. Add the coriander root and grind thoroughly, then the garlic, shallots, and kaffir lime zest, grinding each addition fully before adding the next, until everything looks uniformly red and fine.
8. Once smooth and consistent in color, add the shrimp paste and mix in well.

Notes

Grind the ingredients one at a time in order from hardest to softest — chilies, then lemongrass, then galangal, and so on — rather than combining everything at once, since each addition needs to be fully incorporated before the next goes in.

Substitutions

This paste has no toasted dry spices added, making it the base used for dishes like Choo Chee that call for the herb flavor without the warmth of cumin, coriander seed, or peppercorn.