Thai Red Curry Paste / Khreuang Kaeng (Gaeng) Phet
Thai curry pastes are great little things to keep on hand. They require quite a bit of work in the beginning, but they’re like a gift that you give yourself. Once the work is done, it keeps on giving: store it in the freezer or refrigerator, and on a busy evening when the last thing you want to do is slave around in the kitchen, you just take a small amount of your paste, some coconut milk, and you’ve got what it takes to liven up seafood, meat or vegetables. The recipe that follows is a basic one — some add cumin and/or cinnamon. Doing the work using a large mortar and pestle is preferred, but takes some patience and some elbow grease. Use a food processor if you like. Combine the following:
4 dried long red chiles, about 5 inches long — soak in hot water and de-seed
8 dried small red chiles, about 2 inches long — soak if dried, de-seed
2 lemon grass stalks, white part only, sliced thin
1-inch piece of galangal (or 1 1/2 teaspoons frozen or bottled galangal)
1 teaspoon makrut/kaffir lime zest OR 5 thinly sliced makrut/kaffir lime leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup minced shallots
5 coriander/cilantro/chinese parsley roots, cleaned and minced
2 teaspoons shrimp paste (gupi/kapi)
1 teaspoon toasted and ground coriander seed
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POSTED IN: Cooking Tips and Tutorials, Thai
5 opinions for Thai Red Curry Paste / Khreuang Kaeng (Gaeng) Phet
Christine
Jun 11, 2005 at 2:40 pm
hey stef — do you have a recipe for pancit bihon? thanks!
Stef
Jun 22, 2005 at 5:59 am
i’ll be sure to post one sometime, christine!
Noodles and Rice » Squid-Stuffed Squid in Red Curry Sauce
Apr 24, 2006 at 5:53 pm
[…] So I had some squid in the freezer, along with some of my delicious red curry paste — and about 3 hours to go before dinner. Yes, this isn’t one of those put-together-in-a-hurry kind of dishes, but it’s useful for some kitchen therapy, if you’re the kind of person for whom chopping and slicing can be relaxation. My favorite stuffing for squid is ground pork, spiced up a bit and mixed with some liver, but I didn’t have any and wanted to do something a bit different. […]
Noodles and Rice
Sep 7, 2006 at 6:16 am
[…] This is based on a recipe in . I liked that it uses regular curry powder, for those days when you don’t feel like making your own. Tags:curry thai style mussels seafoodAdd to: September 7th, 2006 | Permalink | No Comments » […]
Debbie
Mar 17, 2008 at 7:09 am
what eqipment do u use to cook a thia red curry?
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