This Thai red curry paste (Prik Gaeng Ped) is flavorful, customizable, and takes just 5 minutes to prepare. Plus, this recipe can be made in bulk and frozen into portions for months of homemade Thai red curry!
Start by crushing the coriander seeds, white peppercorn and cumin seeds in your food processor or spice grinder.
Then, roughly chop the lemongrass stalks and galangal.
Add all the ingredients (sans spices) to a food processor or a blender. Blitz to break down to crumbs.Add the spices and blend again until you achieve a creamy, smooth paste.Taste and adjust this curry paste as needed. Practically every ingredient can be adjusted; add less/more chilies depending on what heat you want, more lime for extra acidity and zing, salt - for saltiness, and ingredients like the garlic, shallots, and galangal can be adjusted to personal taste.Note* Remember though that the paste will be far more pungent then the final results at this point.
Once ready, store in an airtight glass container.
How To Store
The paste can be stored in a glass container for up to a week in the fridge. Alternatively, it can be frozen into individual portions in an ice tray and then transferred to a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
Video
Notes
read the recipe post for more notes on the ingredients
Though it will affect the color and consistency of the paste, you're able to substitute many of the fresh ingredients for dried versions, if they are easier to source. For example, dried lemongrass and galangal can be used. However, you'll need to adjust the amounts (I've found 1 tsp of dried to 1tbsp fresh is a good general conversion for these ingredients).
You can add a little coconut sugar or maple syrup to the paste to balance out the heat. Start with 1/2 tbsp and add more if needed.
Having made this recipe multiple times, I've found that the lemongrass can sometimes leave 'stringy' bits in the paste. While this doesn't bother me generally, if you want to avoid this, then I suggest slicing the lemongrass thinly, against the grain, then adding the thinly sliced pieces to the blender and blending into a paste before adding the other ingredients.
The type of sweet red pepper you use can affect the liquid content of the paste. i.e., red bell peppers tend to add quite a lot of liquid.
If you find the paste to be a bit too thick, then you can add a little coconut oil or even water to thin the paste.
You can start by lightly toasting the peppercorns, cumin, and coriander seeds in a pan for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant. Make sure to stir occasionally and don't allow them to burn. I often skip this step, though, and I still love the results. Plus, if you're using the spice powders, then this step can be skipped as well.