How to make Thai street vendor style curry paste

With the information in this street vendor cooking how-to video you can now make your own Thai curry paste. We describe the difference between red, green, panang, yellow and massaman curries. Follow along as Thai chef in Kanchanaburi, Thailand, demonstrates how to make curry paste.

Ingredients:
1 whole head of garlic, peeled
2 stalks of fresh lemongrass, thinly sliced
1 chunk fresh galangal, 2" long (more or less as you like), sliced
10 fresh kaffir lime leaves, remove middle stem, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon salt
15 whole dried chiles
1 tablespoon shrimp paste

Method
Start by pounding the garlic in a mortar and pestle, then add the lemongrass, followed by galangal, and pulverize all of this together. Next pound in the kaffir lime leaves. Add salt, pound more, then add whole dried chiles. Mix this into a paste, then add shrimp paste. Pound it all together.

What you have now is a very good basic red curry paste that's ready to use. Using the best quality ingredients will always guarantee an excellent result. Try our recipe for Thai fish cakes made with red curry paste.

Adjust the Flavor of Your Thai Curry Paste
Whether making red (above), green, panang, matsaman or yellow curry paste, chefs will typically choose to make the above paste first, then add a few more ingredients to enhance the flavor--typically, roasted corriander seed, fresh corriander root, whole white peppercorn, roasted cumin seeds, and fresh shallots can be added. Add some or all of those as you wish to enhance the flavor to your particular style. To roast seeds, simply heat them in a hot dry wok or frying pan over low heat for a few minutes (until they become fragrant) then remove from heat.