Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe
Make authentic Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste (Prik Gaeng Khiao Waan) from scratch using my easy recipe. It comes together in under 15 minutes using simple ingredients.
Here are some more Thai recipes that you may like: Thai Fried Rice, Thai Mango Sticky Rice, and Thai Watermelon Salad.
About Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
Thai Green Curry Paste is a fragrant, flavorful paste used in Thai curry dishes. It is called Prik Gaeng Khiao Waan in the local language.
It is made with fresh herbs and spices, including lemongrass, galangal, cilantro, chilies, and shallots. This paste is a key ingredient in many Thai dishes and can be used to prepare a variety of Thai curries, soups, and stir-fries.
Although this paste is easily available in the market, I prefer to make my own Thai green curry paste recipe at home.
- It is super easy to make
- Tastes much better than the store-bought curry paste
- Uses fresh ingredients.
- You can control the spiciness.
- No preservatives, colors, or chemicals were added to it.
- It is much more economical to make at home than store-bought paste.
This Thai green paste is freezer-friendly and can be frozen for 2-3 months.
This fresh curry paste was traditionally made in a large stone mortar and pestle, but you can use a blender or a food processor.
Ingredients
All the ingredients for this homemade paste are easily available in the Asian aisle of any large supermarket or Asian grocery store.
Spices – You will need whole coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and whole black peppercorns.
Fresh Ingredients – You will need shallots, garlic, Thai bird’s eye green chilies, lemon grass stalks, kaffir lime leaves (makrut lime leaves), galangal, cilantro, and fresh Thai basil leaves.
If shallots are not available, then replace them with chopped red onions
Thai bird’s eye chilies can be replaced with any spicy green chiles (serrano, jalapeno, green cayenne peppers, etc.), and galangal chilies can be replaced with ginger.
You can decrease or increase the green chilies according to your liking. I like moderately hot paste and used 3-4 Thai green chilies.
Traditionally, cilantro roots are added to make this paste, as they are very flavorful. However, I don’t have access to them in the part of the world where I live, so I used only the stems and leaves.
Others – You will also need dried shrimp, fish sauce, salt, oil, and salt.
You can replace dried shrimp with shrimp paste, but consider that it will make the paste slightly brown.
To make a vegan Thai green paste, skip adding fish sauce and dried shrimp, and add some soy sauce. Vegan fish sauces are also available these days.
Add some freshly squeezed lime juice for a lightly tangy taste.
How To Make Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
Add the following ingredients to a skillet and dry roast until slightly fragrant and browned, stirring continuously.
- 2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
Remove the pan from the heat and let the spices cool down for 5 minutes.
Transfer the roasted and cooled spices to a powerful blender or a food processor with the following ingredients.
- 6-8 peeled shallots (or ½ cup chopped red onions)
- 3-4 peeled garlic cloves
- ¼ cup tightly packed coriander leaves and stems (use coriander roots if available).
- 3-4 Thai bird’s eye green chilies (or any other spicy green chilies), stalks removed
- 1-inch piece of galangal, peeled
- 2 lemongrass stalks, trimmed and finely chopped
- 1 kaffir lime leaf, chopped
- 1 teaspoon dried shrimp
- 8-10 fresh Thai basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
Blend to a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as you go.
Add 2-3 tablespoon of water to help it blend (you may not need any water as the herbs and chilis have moisture).
Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Frequently Asked Questions
If using a mortar and pestle to make the curry paste, chop the ingredients finely. Pound the dry ingredients until they are fine, then add the wet ones.
To make this vegan, replace fish sauce and dried shrimp with 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce. There are vegan fish sauces available these days, so you can use that, too.
The only difference between red and green paste is the type of chilies used to make them. While green Thai chilies are used to make green paste, Thai red chilies are used for red paste. The color of the chilies affects the color and taste of these Thai curry pastes.
To prepare lemongrass, peel the outer tough layers to reveal the white stem. Use the lowest 10 cm (approximately 4 inches). You’ll know which part to use because the tough part can’t be chopped.
Pro Tips By Neha
Try to make the paste as fine as possible.
Make this paste with fresh ingredients. The ingredients’ taste shines through, making a lot of difference.
When your curry paste is made, taste it to see if everything is balanced. Add more fish sauce and soy sauce for a saltier paste. Add more chilies if you like your curries spicier.
Freeze the leftover paste in ice cube trays for easy storage. This way, you can use one cube in your recipes without thawing the entire batch.
Usage Ideas
Green Thai Curry Paste is used in a variety of dishes, including soups, curries, fried rice, stir-fries, and noodles.
It can be used as a marinade for meats and vegetables before grilling or barbecuing.
I use it to make my Thai Green Curry with veggies like bamboo shoots, snow peas, green beans, bell peppers, etc, and serve it with rice noodles. It can also be used to make Thai Green Curry Noodle Soup.
Thin it down a little and use it as a salad dressing.
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Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 6-8 shallots (peeled, or use ½cup chopped red onions if shallots are not available )
- 3-4 cloves of garlic (peeled)
- ¼ cup coriander stem and leaves (tightly packed, use coriander roots as well if they are available.)
- 3-4 Thai bird's eye green chilies (or any other spicy green chilies, stalks removed)
- 1 inch piece galangal (peeled, or use ginger)
- 2 lemongrass stalks (trimmed and finely chopped)
- 1 kaffir lime leaf (chopped)
- 1 teaspoon dried shrimp
- 8-10 Thai basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon oil
Instructions
- Add coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and black peppercorns to a skillet and dry roast until slightly fragrant and browned, stirring continuously.
- Remove the pan from heat and let the spices cool down for 5 minutes.
- Transfer the roasted and cooled spices to a powerful blender or a food processor along with the remaining ingredients.
- Blend to make a fine paste, scraping down the sides as you go.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons of water as required to help it blend (you may not need any water as the herbs and chilis have moisture).
- Use immediately or refrigerate for up to 2 weeks, or freeze for up to 3 months.
Hi Neha,
Thank you very much for this awesome recipe! Tried ot today and it tastes yummm. Totally as if its made from store bought pastes. Never buying again! I used green chillies instead of red and onion instead of shallots!
What would be the vegetarian version of it?
Which ingredient should act as a replacement for fish sauce and shrimp?
You can skip using the fish sauce and add some more of Soy sauce for the veg version.
Will omitting shrimp paste affect the flavor of the paste?
Thank you!
Love your blog! I look forward to reading it everyday