Red Curry Paste

Thai red curry is fragrant and sumptuous, and can be mild to red-hot, depending on how much spice you prefer.

Ingredients

10		dried red chillies
10		dried red bird eyes chillies
30	g	galangal, peeled and chopped
3	medium	lemongrass, bottom part only, chopped
1	tsp	kaffir lime zest
20		white peppercorns
1	tbsp	coriander seeds
1/2	tsp	cumin seeds
2	tsp	shrimp paste
1	tbsp	coriander root, chopped
1	tsp	salt
100	g	shallots, sliced
100	g	garlic, sliced

Steps

Soak the chillies, deseed if desired and roughly chop them up.

Dry roast the coriander and cumin seeds till they are fragrant.

Pound the dry spices finely in a dry stone mortar and set aside. Add the herbs a little at a time, and pound until each is reduced to paste.

Combine the pounded herbs and ground dry spices and pound together with the shrimp paste to form a fine, well-blended paste.

The mixture can be kept refrigerated in about 1 week.