Description
Prik Khing Thai curry paste is derived from the popular Thai red curry paste with fewer ingredients. It is a drier curry paste used for the popular Thai stir-fried Pad Prik Khing recipes, a dish full of bold and exciting flavors from the use of kaffir lime leaves. So delicious and healthy!
Ingredients
Scale
- 4-6 long-dried chilis, deseeded & stems removed (wear gloves when handling hot chilis)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons galangal, chopped small
- 2 tablespoons lemongrass, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic, chopped small
- 1/3 cup shallot, chopped small
- 1/2 teaspoon kaffir lime zest
- 2 kaffir lime leaves, minced small
- 1/2 teaspoon ground white peppercorn
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste
Instructions
Using a mortar and pestle
- Remove the seeds from the chilis, then soak in warm water for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Cut the large chilis into smaller 1-inch chunks before soaking.
- Drain, rinse, and pat dry the chilis. Use kitchen scissors to cut the soaked chilis into 1-inch pieces and place them in the mortar. Add the salt and pound together in a mortar and pestle until you form a nice paste.
- Add the lemongrass and galangal and pound into the paste until smooth.
- Add the garlic, shallot, kaffir zest, kaffir lime leaves, and keep pound away!
- Add the ground white pepper, sugar, cardamom, and shrimp paste. Pound everything well until nice paste forms. Remove the paste and use it immediately for a curry. Refrigerate for up to 10 days. Freeze the extra paste for up to 4 months.
Using a Small Food Processor
- Remove the seeds from the chilis, then soak in warm water for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Drain, rinse, and pat dry the chilis. Cut the large chilis into smaller 1-inch chunks before grinding.
- Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor and pulverize all ingredients together into a fine paste. Add up to 1 tablespoon of cold water to help turn the blades. A spice grinder works great too! Remove the curry paste for use and store any unused paste in a glass jar. That's it! You just made your curry paste from scratch!
Notes
- You can adjust the spiciness of your curry paste by the number of chilis used. The more you use, the spicier your paste will be. The smaller the chilis, also the spicer your paste will be. Adjust according to your taste buds!
- Always remove the seeds of the dried chilis, with a small knife, before soaking to help reduce the heat of your paste.
- This is VERY important: Use kitchen gloves when handling smaller chilis like Thai bird eye chilis, especially when deseeding them. The oil of the chili seeds is extremely hot and can burn your skin for hours.
- If you are short on time or if you forget to soak the dried chilis, place them in a bowl with water to cover all the chilis. Microwave the bowl for 2-3 minutes, then carefully remove it and let it sit until you are ready to use the peppers.
- For added flavors and fragrance, dry roast the shallot, garlic, and chilies in a large skillet on medium-high heat until lightly browned before use!
- Freeze the leftover paste in small portions after making the paste for easy recipe measurements.
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- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Curries
- Method: food processor
- Cuisine: Thai