Homemade Thai red curry paste, full flavoured and whipped up in just 10 minutes. Use this easy Thai paste recipe in the base of a lovely homemade Thai red curry or jar it up and keep it in the fridge or freezer until its needed.
👩🏻🍳 Why make this recipe
Most curry recipes will call for some kind of curry paste, whether thats homemade or out of a jar grabbed off the supermarket shelf. Theres nothing wrong with the latter if you're short on time and ingredients. However, you just can't beat fresh homemade curry paste. Not only does it taste amazing but the fragrant aromas that fill the kitchen are just too good to miss.
This paste takes just 10 minutes to make and its the best base for making a tasty, Thai red curry. Its also the starting point for making Thai yellow paste, Massaman curry paste, Massaman curry, Panang curry and Jungle curry. So all the more reason to make plenty of this amazing Thai red curry paste.
This recipe is adapted from the Thai recipes I made in 2012 in Thailand when attending the Siam Rice cookery school in Chang Mai, Northern Thailand.
🥘 Ingredients
To make this easy Thai red curry paste recipe you will need:
Ingredient notes
Red chillies: The chillies used here will ultimately determine how hot your curry is. So if you like it spicy then use hotter chillies. For Thai red Curry paste, red chillies are required. Use the smaller, thinner finger chillies for extra heat or use the larger red chillies for a milder flavour. If you would prefer no spice at all then just replace the chillies with red bell pepper (capsicum).
Ginger: If you can get hold of galangal (Thai ginger) then definitely use that here. If not, ginger paste, jarred ginger or standard fresh ginger is just fine.
Ground Coriander: Coriander is a great flavour in Thai paste and so I don't recommend that you substitute or leave it out. This recipe uses just ground coriander but feel free to add a bit of fresh coriander as well for a bit of extra flavour and a burst of colour.
Garlic: Use garlic paste or 2 cloves of garlic, if preferred.
Lemongrass: You can substitute this for jarred lemongrass if preferred.
🔪 Step by step instructions
- Start by preparing the ingredients: Roughly chop the shallots, red chillies (seeds removed), and lemongrass, and peel and slice the garlic and ginger (if using fresh).
- Set up a small blender or smoothie maker. Then add all of the ingredients plus 1 tbsp of water.
- Start the blender and blend until a thick, smooth paste has formed. If the blender has trouble getting going add another tbsp of water. Make sure to only add small amounts of water otherwise your paste will be too thin.
- Use the paste to make a Thai red Curry or transfer to a jar or sealable containers and refrigerate for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
💭 Expert tips
- Blending the paste: Use a small blender to make the Thai red paste. If the ingredients don't blend together easily then add a bit of water or olive oil to help get it going. Only add small amounts (1 tbsp) of water or oil each time. Too much and the paste will become thin and runny.
- Make in advance: Curry pastes are great to make in advance as they store easily and can be used directly in whatever curry you are making as soon as you are ready to make it. I like to batch make my curry pastes and then split into small containers. Each container has enough to make one curry for 2-4 people (3-4 tbsp). These can be stored in the fridge or freezer and then called upon when needed. Frozen paste can be microwaved for a minute or two and can then be used right away.
- Scaling this recipe: The ingredients for this recipe will make around 6 tablespoons of Thai red curry paste. To make more just increase the amounts of ingredients. Doubling the ingredients will produce 12 tablespoons.
❓ Frequently asked questions
Out of all the Thai currys, Thai green curry is the hottest, despite the belief that Thai red curry is the hotter of the two. This is mainly down to the chillies used. Green chillies (particularly green birds eye chilli peppers) tend to be hotter than red. But in general the smaller the chilli (red or green) the hotter it becomes. So whether the paste is hot or too spicy for you, is dependent on the type of chillies used and the amounts.
If you like it spicy add plenty of small red chillies. If not, add less and go for a bigger sized chilli pepper or for no head use bell peppers (capsicum). If a milder curry is much more your thing then try Panang curry, or Massaman curry, or even a Thai yellow curry.
The main difference between Thai red and Thai green curry paste is the colour and the heat, both of which come from the type of chillies used. Substituting one paste for other will ultimately dictate the type of curry you end up making.
2-3 tbsp of paste is usually enough when making a curry for 2-4 people.
Once made, Thai red curry paste can be transferred to a jar and kept in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
🍛 Other curry paste recipes:
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📖 Recipe
Thai Red Curry Paste
Equipment
- Small blender or smoothie maker
Ingredients
- 100 g Shallots
- 1 tbsp garlic paste or 2 garlic cloves
- 10 g jarred ginger pieces or 10g piece of fresh ginger
- 2 large red chillies
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 5 kaffir lime leaves
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- ½ tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 or 2 tbsp of water if needed for blending
Instructions
- Start by preparing the ingredients: Roughly chop the shallots, red chillies (seeds removed), and lemongrass, and peel and slice the garlic and ginger (if using fresh).
- Set up a small blender or smoothie maker. Then add all of the ingredients plus 1 tbsp of water.
- Start the blender and blend until a thick, smooth paste has formed. If the blender has trouble getting going add another tbsp of water. Make sure to only add small amounts of water otherwise your paste will be too thin.
- Use the paste to make a Thai red Curry or transfer to a jar or sealable containers and refrigerate for 1 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Video
Nutrition
Notes
This post was first published in March 2019. Updated in April 2021 with an improved recipe, new images, step by step photos and expert tips.
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