Red Curry Paste (Nam Phrik Kaeng Daeng).
May 3rd, 2012
Classically red curry (and green curry) has shrimp paste in it, to create the umami flavours in my versions I use miso paste to create the same flavour profile.
Makes 1 cup paste (about 6 serves).
Ingredients.
- 3 teaspoons coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- 15 long hot dried chillies
- 1/2 cup chopped shallot (eschalot)
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1/2 inch piece lemon grass root (the white stem)
- 3 teaspoons fresh coriander stem and root chopped
- 1/2 inch square piece galangal root
- 3 teaspoons miso paste
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Method.
Soak the dried chillis in warm water for ten minutes and then drain them.
In a hot pan, dry roast the coriander seeds, cumins seeds and peppercorns for a few minutes until the cumin seeds are lightly browned.
In a food processor, process the spices into a powder. Add all the other ingredients to the food processer and process until the mixture is a reasonably smooth paste.
The mixture can be frozen into single use portions for months or stored in a jar in the fridge for up to two weeks.
To make two serves of curry add two tablespoons of paste to hot saucepan. Fry in a little oil until fragrant and then add two cups of hot water. Bring to the boil and then add vegetables and tofu. Simmer until everything is cooked, then add a cup of coconut milk and season with soy sauce.
Notes:
Some ingredients in the curry paste can be hard to find so you can make substitutions where necessary.
- Shallots can be replaced with regular onion.
- If you can’t find lemon grass replace it in the recipe with a teaspoon minced ginger, a 1/4 teaspoon of lemon zest and 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. It won’t have the exactly the same flavour but it will have a similar effect in the curry.
- Fresh galangal root can be replaced with a teaspoon of galangal powder or a teaspoon of minced ginger.