Basic Recipes : Thai Red Curry Paste

Here is a basic recipe for making Red Curry Paste. It is customisable according to your spice tolerance level and waaayy better that store bought Red Curry Paste. And, once you have this in hand, making red curry is as simple as as making ‘maggi 2 minute noodles’, make some jasmine rice as well and your dinner or lunch is ready in a jiffy… You may first need to pay a visit to your local asian grocery store to get some of the ingredients.. all of you in WA can go to Uwajimaya in Bellevue and Seattle.

Red Curry Paste (Recipe Source – About.com:Thai food)

4-5 shallots, sliced
1 stalk lemongrass (those who don’t like the distinct flavour of lemongrass can use less of it)
1-3 tsp of Thai red chilli sauce (I used 2 and it was pretty spicy)
3 cloves garlic
2 inch piece of galangal, sliced (can be substituted with ginger)
1/4 tsp white pepper (i used black pepper)
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander seeds
3 tbsp fish sauce (i substituted with soy sauce. The recipe called for a substitution with “vegetarian” fish sauce, but I was unable to find any)
1 kaffir lime leaf
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp red chilli powder
1/3 cup coconut mik (or more if required)

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and grind well. To use immediately, fry the paste in some oil to release flavours. Can be stored in an airtight container for upto 2 weeks.

To make the Red Curry : Place all the cut vegetables ( 2-3 tomatoes, 1 small Japanese Eggplant, 1 red bell pepper, 1 small sweet potato or yam, 1/2 cup sweet basil, 2-3 kaffir lime leaves) and cut tofu in a casserole dish. Add the red curry paste and 1/2 can of coconut milk. Mix well.Bake at 375 deg F for 20-25 minutes.

Red Curry with Jasmine Rice

While buying lemongrass : Make sure that the stalks are fragrant and are gree/lemon green in colour. Peel away the layers till you come across the softer pale yellow part, that is the one to be chopped and used.

I am currently reading: ‘Pastries’ by Bharti Kirchner. It is about a young American woman whose parents migrated from India when she was a baby and has never been to India since then, who is a baker and owns a bakery, Pastries Cafe in Seattle and how her cozy little bakery is put in threat of closing down when a chain bakery is about to open down the street…I do not know what happens next..but seems like a nice book so far..especially the part where she goes to France to learn about french pastries…you will sooo wanna have some of those Normandy Apple Tarts with their “glistening layers of paper thin apple slices burrowed in a browned rectangle of puff pastry”… let me get back to my book now, while all of you enjoy the red curry!