I wanted to make a Thai soup, but I had no curry paste, and to be honest I was not sure I would find any in the stores that I had nearby. So, why not make it myself? I managed to make a very delicious paste, really spicy but fresh, that not only made the soup delicious, but I think it can easily be used for chicken dishes, to marinade, or as a base for curries.
So, let’s get into it. You will need some sort of food processor or a high power blender to make everything into a paste.
Ingredients:
- 6-7 dried chilies (you can also use fresh)
- 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- a piece of about 2 cm of ginger
- 3 cloves of garlic
- juice from half a lemon
- 2 tsp chili paste (my chilies were not spicy enough)
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- zest of 1/4 lemon
- 1 tsp coconut sugar
- 3 tbsp grapeseed oil
- 2-3 tbsp water from the chilies
Method:
- Cut the dried chilies and remove some of the seeds. Add the dried chilies in a bowl and submerge them in boiling water. Let them steep until they are soft to touch.
- Meanwhile peel and grate de ginger. If you have a very powerful food procesor you may skip this, but in my case, I really did not want to have a stringy texture because of the ginger, so I grated it first. Peel the garlic as well and grate the lemon zest.
- Put the coriander seeds in a mortar and grind them. Grind the pepper too if you have to.
- After the dried chilies have become soft (~10 minutes) put them in a food processor alongside the other ingredients.
- Blend until a paste is formed. Scrape the sides if necessary.
- In my case I added 3 tbsp of the water in which I steeped the chilies to thin out the paste a bit, and a bit more lemon juice after a taste test. Make sure to taste and see if maybe it needs more acidity, salt or even spice. The above ratio was perfect for me.
This was all. It is really quick to make and the burst of flavour was amazing.
Let me know if you try it out!
Better Than Salads 