Vegan Thai Red Curry Paste

Vegan Thai red curry paste or should I say magically versatile curry paste  which is  one of the essentials that you need to have stocked up so that you can use it whenever you want and practically in anything you want. If you love thai food – especially red thai curry and haven’t considered making it at home , you might want to read this super duper easy recipe to create your very own red curry paste.

Why home-made

Because homemade is the best , and so darn easy to make .

It’s versatile and easy to store – freezes beautifully for the never-ending stock

Plus if you are a vegetarian you will definitely wanna make it.

Traditionally thai curry paste calls shrimp paste or fish sauce , hence vegetarians need to be more careful while ordering these curries at  a restaurant. But at home you are more relieved as you know what goes into the paste.

So what is this fiery paste made of-

The heart of this paste is red chilies

Traditionally  thai  dried chilies are used , but use what peppers you have on hand.

I always have Indian spices stocked up , so I have used Kashmiri dried red chilies , which isn’t very spicy if deseeded . Hence , this gives me a chance to add more paste which means better color and flavor.

Loads of ginger and garlic and cilantro and onion/shallots and lemon.

Some dried spices – easily accessible

Some Kafir lime leaves , Lemon grass and Galangal –

Though its difficult to substitute anything for lemon grass tweaking some ginger, cilantro and some lemon juice or zest works pretty well.

Do not get disheartened if you are unable to find authentic stuff – there is always a way out and again no reason for you not to try it out.

Read the notes for possible substitutions that works equally well for a successful red thai curry paste.

Now don’t under estimate this fiery and flavorful paste. It has a lot more potential than just making a red curry . Wait until you make this quick curry paste and you will be adding it in everything possible .It can pep up a boring dish instantly. That is why I always have it stocked up. For those hectic days or the days you are completely lost what to make , or when you are bored but still have to put up an interesting dinner – this paste will always come to your rescue.

Get set for express dinners which are healthy too – if you have this pre prepared  curry paste, quicker and better than take outs.

Ok – so you are interested to know how you can use it apart from red thai curry –

For starters –

Any kinda stir fry on this earth  – and they are ready in less than 15 minutes

Spice up your soups , salads with a dash of this paste- much needed in this cold weather.

Give your noodles, rice , pastas a good kick with it.

We all love pizzas – why not make some off beat ones – thai style.

Makes a fantastic burger/ sandwich/ wraps spread – just mix up some mayo , herbs and the red curry paste – you are good to go with a fancy one.

These are just few examples , there are endless possibilities .

I hope you like it as much as we do and make it a part of your routine.

Enjoy the step by step quick tutorial followed by the recipe ,notes and substitutions .

Traditionally mortar and pestle is used to pound the chili paste , but my skin and eyes are not chili  friendly , hence I just quick grind everything. You can use a food processor or a spice grinder.

Wear food safe gloves 🙂 ( I do it as my skin can’t handle chilies that well )

Deseed the chilies ( I do as much as possible so that the paste isn’t over the top spicy)

Soak the chilies in some hot water for 20 minutes . 

Meantime dry roast the spices.

grind the spices once cool , add in everything else and grind to a smooth paste.

Congratulations!! you have just made the delicious , fiery and  full of flavors – vegan thai red curry paste – Super easy isn’t it.

Make ahead of time

If I am not using it right away , i freeze some portion in form of ice cubes-  1 tablespoon measure , once frozen pop them out and place it in a freezer safe zip lock bag  for future use . Stays great upto a week in the fridge and for a very very long time in the freezer. 

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5 from 2 votes

Vegan Thai Red Curry Paste

Easy to make vegan thai curry paste is very versatile and can be used in variety of foods for extra kick and flavor .

Course base, paste

Cuisine Thai

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 25 minutes

Adjustable Servings -3 /4 cup approx

Author Khushboo Kothari

Ingredients

• 12-14 cloves - garlic
• 15-17 dried red chilies
• 1/4 cup finely chopped onions/ shallots
• 3 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 3 teaspoon cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• <span></span>3-4 kafir lime leaves/ 1 tablespoon kafir lime zest / lemon zest
• 2 tablespoon ginger paste/ grated
• <span class="mceItemHidden" data-mce-bogus="1"><span></span>4 tablespoon lemongrass paste * / 1 tablespoon lemon zest</span>
• 3 tablespoon coriander leaves with tender stems.
• salt to taste

Instructions

• deseed dry chilies and soak it in hot water to soften for 20 minutes.
• Meanwhile roast coriander seeds, cumin and pepper on low heat until aromatic a - for 2 minutes.
• Drain out water from the chilies
• <span class="mceItemHidden" data-mce-bogus="1"><span></span>grind the dry spices and kafir lime leaves</span>
• Add chilies , pulse them few times
• Add ginger , garlic, lemon grass paste, lemon zest , salt and cilantro leaves and grind until smooth.
• Its done. Taste test if you wish to.
• It will be spicy and tangy , but balances out once added to the food.

Notes

possible substitutes
ginger works beautifully - traditionally galangal is used
I have used onions as they were on hand - shallots are traditionally used
substitute Kaffir lime leaves - fresh lemon juice
for lemon grass paste - use lemon grass stalk same amount that is called for

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Hope you give it a try . Let me know if you have any questions regarding the same . And needless to say many recipes using vegan thai red curry paste will follow.

Do check out the delicious Thai Vegan red curry here  made using this curry paste.

Happy cooking!