Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
Thai green curry paste is the key ingredient in a Thai green curry, but you can use it for so much more. This homemade recipe is fragrant, pungent and oh so very good. It’s also quick and easy to make.
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Dive Right In
- Why Make Thai Green Curry Paste?
- Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
- Ingredients And Substitutions
- How To Make Thai Green Curry Paste
- FAQs
- Other Green Pastes And Sauces You Might Like
- Keep In Touch
- The Recipe
Why Make Thai Green Curry Paste?
Well yes I know it’s fairly easy to find and buy Thai green curry paste these days. However, for a fresher more vibrant flavour, there’s nothing quite as good as homemade. Moreover, you can control what goes into it and how hot, mild or intense you want it.
- Customisation – One of the joys of making curry paste at home is that you can customise it according to your own or family’s taste preferences and dietary needs. Don’t like the heat? Use less chillies.
- Dietary Control – Homemade curry paste is free from preservatives, artificial colours and other additives often found in commercial versions. It’s also easier to ensure the paste is entirely vegan, avoiding hidden animal products like fish sauce or shrimp paste.
- Freshness and Flavour – Homemade curry paste is fresher and more vibrant than most commercial versions. Using fresh ingredients like lemongrass, Thai basil and lime leaves ensures a vibrant and aromatic paste that enhances the overall taste of any resulting curry.
- Nutrient-Rich – The fresh herbs and spices used to make this homemade curry paste are packed with various nutrients and antioxidants. Benefits include anti-inflammatory properties and immune system support.
- Sense of Accomplishment – There’s a unique sense of pride and accomplishment that comes when you make something from scratch. Or is that just me? It’s a fun and satisfying process which you can share with family and friends.
- Versatility – You can use homemade green curry paste in a variety of dishes beyond green curry. Add it to soups, stir-fries and casseroles for an upsurge in flavour.
Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
Once you’ve made your own Thai green curry paste, they’ll be no looking back. I haven’t bought any for many years now. It’s not only quick and easy to make your own, but it’s so much nicer.
Use it in a classic Thai green curry, or try it in my recipe for beans, courgettes and sweetcorn with roasted hazelnuts. In fact don’t be shy, you can whack it into any number of dishes to enhance their flavour. It makes an excellent addition to stir-fries, curries and soups. Just make sure you cook it out a bit first.
Thai green curry paste, homemade or otherwise, isn’t really something you want to eat in its raw state. It really needs a bit of cooking to soften any fibrous parts. So fry it along with, or even before you add your veggies to the pan. In other words, don’t use it as a salad dressing.
My recipe makes more than you need for one curry, unless you’re making one to feed a crowd. However, it will keep in the fridge for a week and you can freeze it for up to three months.
Ingredients And Substitutions
Thai green curry paste requires quite a lot of ingredients to make, but the process is a simple one. Once made though, you’ll have enough to make three to six curries or other dishes.
If you have access to an Asian market, you should be able to get the herbs easily and cheaply. If not, many supermarkets sell packs of Thai herbs which contain most of the ones you need for this recipe.
Herbs
Green herbs are the backbone of this curry paste. You need a good handful of them, particularly the soft leaved ones.
Makrut lime leaves, also known as kaffir lime leaves, are amazing. They’re an important ingredient in Thai cuisine and give a unique flavour that’s hard to replicate with anything else.
Lemongrass is another staple herb used in Thai and other South East Asian cuisines. It too has a distinctive flavour that’s hard to replicate. It comes in the form of stalks which you need to peel as well as remove any tough parts.
It’s delicious and makes a fabulous tisane. Coming across it always reminds me of weeding it out of herb beds when we were WWOOFing in Australia many years ago. It’s a tough plant to remove, but I wish we could grow it here in the UK.
Thai basil is quite different to the European sweet basil which we love to make pesto with. It has a bolder flavour profile with anise tones and the leaves are tougher. If push comes to shove though, use sweet basil instead.
I use coriander leaves (cilantro) in my green curry paste. Traditional pastes are made with coriander root, but once again, that’s not very easy to get hold of. The leaves aren’t as powerful in taste as the root, but the flavour is still there.
Spices
Coriander is the all important spice in Thai green curry paste. The seeds give fresh tasting citrus notes and a slight sweetness. However cumin seeds and peppercorns are needed too.
White peppercorns are the traditional ones to use for this recipe. However they’re not always easy to come by. Sichuan peppercorns make a good substitute. But black peppercorns will do if you can’t get either of the others.
Galangal is the spicy root used in an authentic Thai green curry paste. However, it’s not easy to get hold of and root ginger is an acceptable substitute. That’s what I’ve used in this recipe.
You can’t have a southeast asian curry without chillies. Tiny Thai green chillies are the ones to go for if you can find them. They’re also known as bird’s eye chillies. As you can see from the images here, I used two red ones and only one green as that’s what came in my pack.
These chillies are quite hot, but not excessively so. I’ve only used three. These give a moderate heat which is then diluted by whatever other ingredients you use in your dish. If you like the heat, add more and if you like things really mild, use just one.
Alliums
You can’t have a curry paste without some sort of allium. It almost goes without saying that garlic is a must have. Shallots are the other member of the allium family generally used in this one.
Go for a medium to large shallot or use two smaller ones. I didn’t have any to hand this time, so I used a small onion instead. To be honest, I didn’t notice much difference.
Lime
If you can get hold of one, makrut lime is the one to use for both zest and juice. I’ve never come across a fresh one and always use ordinary limes.
Miso
Traditional Thai green chilli paste includes fermented shrimp paste as one of the ingredients. Some recipes call for fish sauce instead or as well as. Although you don’t need much of it, it does give a distinctive flavour that rounds out the taste experience.
As a vegetarian or vegan substitute I’ve used fermented bean paste instead. It gives a surprisingly similar flavour profile.
White miso is the one to use here as it’s neither too dark in colour not overly strong in flavour.
Oil
Use a neutral tasting oil such as sunflower oil. Don’t use olive oil for this as it just doesn’t have the right flavour profile. However, if you prefer not to use oil you can substitute it with a little water, if needed. It might not last quite as long in the fridge, but it will still freeze okay.
How To Make Thai Green Curry Paste
This recipe makes six tablespoons of Thai green curry paste. That’s enough for six Thai green curries, each to feed two to three people.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for full instructions, timings and quantities of ingredients used.
You can make this Thai green curry paste in one of two ways. I use the easy method, which is a mini food processor (affiliate link). A stick blender will also work.
However you can pulverise the ingredients by hand in a pestle and mortar instead. It’s harder to do, but the experts say, it produces a better flavoured paste. It’s the traditional way after all.
Step 1. Prepare Seeds
Start by toasting the seeds. You don’t have to do this bit, but it does make a significant difference and I highly recommend it.
Spoon the peppercorns, coriander and cumin seeds into a dry frying pan and place over a moderate heat.
Toast the seeds until they’re fragrant and just starting to take on a bit of colour. This should take about four minutes. Give the pan an occasional shake to ensure nothing is burning. Set aside to cool.
Once cool, transfer to a pestle and mortar and smash them up a bit.
Step 2. Chop
Peel the shallot or onion and cut into rough chunks. Likewise, peel the garlic cloves and half or quarter them. Drop into the food processor or add to the seeds in the pestle and mortar.
Top and tail the lemongrass stalk and remove any tough outer leaves. If you buy the stalk whole, you’ll need to take off the woody top, otherwise just trim it. Chop into roughly two centimetre (one inch) lengths. Add to the shallot.
Chop the stalk ends off the chillies and discard. Cut them into halves and drop into the food processor.
Step 3. Prepare Herbs
Wash and dry the green herbs. You don’t want any excess moisture making its way into the paste. Either give them a thorough shaking or use a salad spinner.
Then chop them roughly so that you can fit them into the processor bowl.
Step 4. Prepare Lime
Scrub the chunk of ginger and remove any rough bits from it. However, there’s no need to peel. Chop into rough chunks and throw them into the mix.
Scrub the lime well and zest it finely straight into the food processor bowl. I use a microplane (affiliate link) for this, which is fab. Then juice half of the lime and add that.
Step 5. Smash
Add the salt and miso paste to the other ingredients in the processor bowl or mortar. Don’t forget the crushed seeds and leaf herbs, if you haven’t added them already.
Pulse the ingredients until everything is finely chopped. You may need to scrape down the sides a couple of times. Alternatively grind everything as well as you can with a pestle until a rough paste forms.
Add the oil and blitz until you have a green paste. Don’t worry if it’s not particularly smooth, it’s not meant to be.
Transfer the paste into airtight glass or ceramic containers. Two small ones are best, then you can freeze one for another time. They’ll keep in the fridge for a week or so.
Top Tip
For a smooth curry paste, double the quantities and use a power blender. The amount I’ve given in the recipe is too small to work in a large jug blender.
Thai Green Curry Paste: FAQs
It will last for a couple of weeks in the fridge, but for optimum flavour is best consumed within a week. Keep it well sealed in small container to minimise oxidisation.
If you have leftover paste that you’re not likely to use in the next week or so, you can freeze it. Spoon into ice cube holes and freeze for a couple of hours. Remove the cubes from the tray and transfer to a freezer proof bag or container.
You don’t have to toast the spices before using, but it really gives the paste an added depth of flavour. It only takes a few minutes to do and is well worth that extra bit of effort.
A blender will make a smooth paste, however, Thai green curry paste isn’t meant to be smooth, so it’s best pulsed in a mini food processor.
For the very best results, smash everything together in a pestle and mortar until you have a rough paste. This apparently gives the best flavour, though I’ve never tried it.
Other Green Pastes And Sauces You Might Like
- Carrot top pistou with lemon (lemon)
- Chimichurri sauce (vegan)
- Creamy wild garlic dressing
- Italian green sauce (Bagnèt verd) (vegan)
- Parsley & almond pesto
- Watercress pesto
Keep in Touch
Thank you for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try my homemade Thai green curry, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Do you have any recommendations or tips for making or using curry pastes?
Please rate the recipe. If you post pictures of your creations on social media, tag me @choclette8 so I can see them.
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Choclette x
Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste. PIN IT.
Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
Ingredients
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- ½ tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp white peppercorns can use Sichuan peppercorns instead but black will do if you can’t get either of the others
- 1 shallot or small onion
- 2 clove garlic nice plump ones if you can get them
- 1 stalk lemongrass or two small ones
- 3 Thai green chillies (small, thin and hot bird's eye chillies) – use more if you like your paste fiery
- 30 g root ginger or galangal if you can get it
- 1 lime zest and juice of half
- 2-3 Makrut lime leaves
- 15 g coriander leaves (cilantro)
- 15 g Thai basil
- 1 tsp sea salt course is best
- ½ tsp white miso
- 2 tbsp sunflower oil (or other neutral oil)
Instructions
- Start by toasting the seeds. Spoon the peppercorns, coriander and cumin into a dry frying pan and place over a moderate heat. Toast the seeds for 3-4 minutes until they’re fragrant and just starting to take on a bit of colour. Set aside to cool, then grind roughly in a pestle and mortar.1 tsp coriander seeds, ½ tsp cumin seeds, ½ tsp white peppercorns
- Prepare and drop the ingredients into a mini food processor. If you don’t have one, you can pulverise the ingredients by hand in a pestle and mortar. It’s harder to do, but the experts say, it produces a better flavoured paste.
- Peel the shallot and cut into rough chunks.1 shallot
- Peel the garlic cloves and half or quarter them.2 clove garlic
- Remove any tough outer leaves from the lemongrass and top and tail it. Chop into 2cm (1 inch) lengths.1 stalk lemongrass
- Chop the stalk ends off the chillies and discard. Cut them into halves.3 Thai green chillies
- Scrub the chunk of ginger and remove any rough bits from it. However, there’s no need to peel it. Chop into rough chunks.30 g root ginger
- Scrub the lime well and zest it finely into the food processor bowl. Then juice half of it and add that.1 lime
- Wash and dry the herbs. You don’t want any excess moisture making its way into the paste. Either give them a thorough shaking or use a salad spinner. Chop them roughly so that you can fit them into the processor bowl.2-3 Makrut lime leaves, 15 g coriander leaves (cilantro), 15 g Thai basil
- Add the salt and miso paste.1 tsp sea salt, ½ tsp white miso
- Pulse the ingredients until everything is finely chopped. You may need to scrape down the sides a couple of times. Add the oil and blitz until you have a green paste. Don't worry if it's not particularly smooth, it's not meant to be.2 tbsp sunflower oil
- Transfer the paste into airtight glass or ceramic containers. Two small ones are best, then you can freeze one for another time. They’ll keep in the fridge for a week or so.
Notes
Nutrition Estimate
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I’m ashamed to say I’ve never thought of making my own Green Curry Paste, so, I am pleased to get your recipe.
I use it in so many things just to zing up the flavour as well as a Green Curry.
Thanks Choclette 🙂
Mary :))
Goodness, don’t be ashamed Mary. It’s not something I thought to do for a long time. Green curry paste is so useful to have to hand and it really does ramp up the flavour.