Pounded Thai Green Curry Paste from Scratch

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A proper green curry paste built the way Thai kitchens build it: toasted spices ground first, then fibrous lemongrass and galangal pounded down with salt before the fresh green chiles, cilantro root, shallot, garlic and toasted shrimp paste go in. The result is grassy, floral and aggressively fragrant in a way no jar can match, and it's designed to be fried in coconut cream until the oil splits — that's when it really wakes up. One batch makes about a cup, enough for four family-sized curries.

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp white peppercorns

• 1 tbsp kosher salt
• 3 tbsp thinly sliced lemongrass, tender bottom third only (about 3 stalks)
• 2 tbsp peeled and thinly sliced fresh or frozen galangal
• 2 tsp finely slivered makrut lime leaves, center ribs removed
• 8 long green chiles such as green Anaheim or Hatch, seeded and sliced (about 3/4 cup)
• 6 green bird's eye or serrano chiles, sliced
• 3 tbsp chopped cilantro roots and lower stems
• 1/3 cup chopped shallot
• 3 tbsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp Thai shrimp paste (kapi)
• 1 tbsp neutral oil, only if using a blender

• 3 tbsp green curry paste from above
• 1 14-oz can full-fat coconut milk, unshaken
• 1 lb boneless chicken thighs, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp palm sugar or light brown sugar
• 1 cup Thai eggplant or zucchini, cut into wedges
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves

Instructions

1. Toast the spices: put the coriander, cumin and white peppercorns in a dry skillet over medium-low heat. Shake constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, until the coriander is a shade darker and smells nutty and orange-peel sweet. Tip onto a plate to cool completely, then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder or mortar. Set aside.
2. Toast the shrimp paste: wrap the 2 teaspoons of shrimp paste in a small foil packet, flatten it, and set it in the same skillet over medium-low heat for 3 minutes per side, until it smells strongly savory and slightly smoky. Unwrap and set aside. (Turn on your fan — it is pungent, and that is the point.)
3. Prep the aromatics properly. Slice the lemongrass into paper-thin coins, cutting across the grain; anything thicker will stay stringy. Slice the galangal thin as well. Sliver the lime leaves into hair-thin threads. Scrub the cilantro roots well before chopping. This knife work is what makes a smooth paste possible.
4. Mortar method (best texture): put the salt and lemongrass in a heavy granite mortar and pound for 2 to 3 minutes until fibrous and broken down. Add the galangal and lime leaf, pound 2 minutes more. Add both chiles and pound 3 to 4 minutes, scraping the sides, until they collapse into a rough green pulp. Add cilantro root, then shallot, then garlic, pounding 2 minutes after each addition. Finally add the ground spices and toasted shrimp paste and pound and stir 1 minute more, until you have a thick, uniform, glossy paste with no visible fibers. Total pounding time is 12 to 15 minutes.
5. Blender method (faster): combine everything — including the ground spices, shrimp paste and 1 tablespoon neutral oil — in a small, tall blender jar or a mini food processor. Blend in 20-second bursts, scraping down and pressing the mixture back into the blades between bursts, for 3 to 4 minutes total. Add water only 1 teaspoon at a time if it refuses to move; too much liquid dilutes the flavor and makes it hard to fry later.
6. Taste-check the paste on a spoon tip: it should be sharply hot, citrusy, and salty enough to make you flinch. If it tastes flat, pound in another 1/2 teaspoon salt. Transfer to a jar, press the surface flat, and refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze in 3-tablespoon portions for up to 3 months.
7. To cook a curry from it: open the can of coconut milk without shaking and spoon the thick cream from the top into a wok or wide skillet. Set over medium heat and cook 3 to 4 minutes until it bubbles hard and clear oil separates out at the edges.
8. Add 3 tablespoons of the green paste to the split cream and fry, stirring constantly, for 3 to 4 minutes. It will darken slightly, thicken, and smell overwhelmingly fragrant, with green-tinted oil pooling around it. This frying step is non-negotiable — raw paste stirred into liquid tastes harsh and grassy.
9. Add the chicken and stir to coat, cooking 2 minutes. Pour in the remaining coconut milk plus 1/2 cup water, add the fish sauce and palm sugar, and bring to a gentle simmer. Add the eggplant and simmer, uncovered, 10 to 12 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced slightly and shows flecks of green oil on the surface.
10. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce for salt or sugar for balance, then kill the heat and stir in the Thai basil. Let it sit 2 minutes off the heat so the basil perfumes the sauce, and serve with jasmine rice.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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