Thai Curry Paste

Finely dice shallot Ingredients: shallot Equipment: Knife
Finely slice chillies Ingredients: chillies Equipment: Knife
Peel outer skin of lemongrass, trim ends, and finely dice stalks Ingredients: lemongrass Equipment: Knife
Add garlic, ginger, half the salt, coriander seeds, and cumin to mortar, mince to paste with pestle Ingredients: Garlic , ginger , Salt , coriander seeds , cumin Equipment: pestle
Add coriander stems, lime leaf, shallot, the rest of the salt, and lemongrass, to mortar continue to mince until paste again Ingredients: coriander stems , lime leaf , shallot , Salt , lemongrass Equipment: pestle
Add anchovies, fish sauce, and oil to mortar giving one last mincing until it comes together as a paste Ingredients: anchovies , fish sauce , oil Equipment: pestle

If you want to make it spicier, simply add more chillies! One chilli will suit most palate.
For a green thai curry paste, add some basil leaves - one or two leaves will do.
For a red thai curry paste, add plenty of red birds eye chillies - 6g (3 chillies) would be a good starting point.
For a yellow thai curry paste, forgo the lime leaf and coriander, and add 3g (1tsp) turmeric, 3g (1tsp) cinnamon, and 2g (1tsp) ground white pepper - adding them in the last step.
The salt, coriander seeds and cumin all act as abbrasives, to help the pestle & mortar produce a more even paste.
If you want to make a vegan alternative to this, substitute anchovies for 17g (1tbsp) brown/red miso paste, and fish sauce for this vegan fish sauce alternative recipe.

Recipes that use Thai Curry Paste