Thai Red Curry Paste

Recently I've been on a curry kick of all kinds, so when the chance to learn how to make Thai curries presented itself to me, I jumped at the chance. So this recipe is the real deal, straight from real Thai cooks. Their original recipe is spicy, but not too spicy, about a 6 out of 10 on the heat scale.

Almost all ingredients can be found at a good Asian grocery. You will need a blender or food processor. Also possible to do it the traditional way with a mortar and pestle.

Update Feb. 16, 2020: Metric weights for ingredients, may differ slightly from list below

100g lemongrass
125g garlic
175g shallots
125g galangal
  20g chilis
  25g cilantro stalks (for green curry)
  25g Thai basil stalks (for green curry)
    4T fish sauce
    2T lime juice
    2T water


4 Stalks Lemongrass
12 fresh red Thai chiles (more if desired. Dried chiles are an option, but may lead to a spicier curry paste. For green curry, use green chiles)
15 shallots
15-20 cloves of garlic (there should be approximately equal amounts garlic and shallot)
.2 Lbs Galangal - a root, related to Ginger (there should be much less galangal in comparison to the shallots or garlic)
4 Tbsp fish sauce (I use Tiparos brand)
water
1 small can red chile/curry paste (optional, mostly for color)

Prep

Depending on whether you're using a mortar and pestle or a blender, you may have more work to do.

Lemongrass: Cut away the leafy green part of the stalk, approximately the uppermost 25%, and remove the outermost layer of the lemongrass. Rinse. Cut into slices about 1cm (.5 inch) thick.

Clockwise from top: Garlic, chiles, lemongrass, shallots, galangal

Galangal: Galangal is very hard to work with, so make sure you have a sharp knife. Cut away the dried out ends of the Galangal. First slice it into thin (3 mm or an eighth of an inch) disks, then cut those into smaller pieces.

Shallots and garlic: Peel and if using a blender, cut in half.

Chiles: remove stems




Grind it out

Put all the ingredients into your mixing device along with the oil and 1/4 cup of water. Optional: add a small can of store bought red curry paste, used mostly for color.

Grind/blend until it is a fine paste. Add more water to the blender if necessary, to help it blend.

Putting it in an ice cube tray and freezing it is a great way to store it long term.