Yellow Curry Paste Recipe
This homemade Thai yellow curry paste is mild but flavourful. The recipe makes enough for 2 batches of a 4 serving curry, and any extra can be frozen.
Ingredients
- 0.7 oz mild dried chilies, cut into ½-inch chunks (see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, toasted
- 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
- ½ teaspoon white peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon curry powder, (see note 2)
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bottom half only, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon galangal, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric, finely chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- ½ cup shallots, finely chopped
- 2 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste, omit if vegetarian
Notes
- Though yellow curry is usually on the milder side, you can make the curry spicier by replacing some of the mild dried chilies with hotter ones, such as chiles de arbol or Thai chilies.
- Any curry powder available at your local store will work, as long as you like the way it smells; it does not need to be a Thai brand.
Instructions
- Add the chilies to a coffee or spice grinder and grind into a powder.0.7 oz mild dried chilies
- In a stone mortar and pestle, add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and white peppercorns; grind into a powder. Remove and set aside in a bowl; add curry powder to this bowl.1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1½ teaspoon cumin seeds, ½ teaspoon white peppercorns, 1 tablespoon curry powder
- Add lemongrass, galangal, ginger, turmeric and salt to the mortar and pound into a paste. When the mixture feels too wet, add the dry spices to help absorb the liquid and continue to pound into a fine paste.1 stalk lemongrass, 2 tablespoon ginger, 2 tablespoon galangal, 1 tablespoon fresh turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt
- Add ground chilies, shallots, and garlic; pound into a fine paste. Add shrimp paste and pound to mix.6 cloves garlic, ½ cup shallots, 2 teaspoon fermented shrimp paste
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