Thai Red Curry Paste

Ingredients

• ½ C Lemon grass, chopped (about 3 sprigs)
• ½ C Thai red shallots, chopped
• ¼ C minced garlic (6-10 cloves)
• 4 tbs cilantro root, minced
• Zest from one Kaffir lime (Lime zest is optional if Kaffir lime is not available)
• 4 sliced pcs Galangal, minced (substitute ginger)
• 8-10 Dried red spur chilies (substitute ancho, or red Anaheim)
• 4-5 Dried bird eye chilies (red)
• ½ tsp Black pepper
• 1 tsp white pepper corns
• 1 tsp coarse sea salt
• 1 ml Coriander seeds
• 1 ml Cumin seeds
• 1 tbs Shrimp paste

Directions

1. Toast Spices: Toast white peppercorns, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds until fragrant.
2. Grind: Transfer toasted spices to a mortar and pestle and grind into a fine powder.
3. Rehydrate Chilies: Remove seeds from dried chilies. Boil ~10 minutes, then remove from heat and let steep until ready to use.
4. Make Paste: Add lemongrass, shallots, garlic, galangal, and rehydrated chilies to the mortar. Pound into a smooth paste.
5. Finish: Once smooth, add the ground spices and shrimp paste and pound until fully incorporated.

The Gumbo Page