Make Authentic Thai Green Curry Paste (Prik Gaeng Khiao Waan) at home from scratch using my easy recipe. It comes together in under 15 minutes using simple ingredients (gluten-free, can easily be made vegan).
Here are some more Thai recipes that you may like – Thai Red Chicken Curry, Thai Fried Rice, Thai Mango Sticky Rice, Thai Basil Chicken, Thai Watermelon Salad, and Thai Squash Fritters.
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About Homemade Thai Green Curry Paste
Thai Green Curry Paste is a fragrant, flavorful paste used in Thai green curry dishes. It is called Prik Gaeng Khiao Waan in the local language.
It is made with a blend of fresh herbs and spices, including lemongrass, galangal, cilantro, chilies, and shallots. This paste is an essential ingredient in many Thai dishes and can be used to make a variety of Thai curries, soups, and stir-fries.
Although this paste is easily available in the market these days, I prefer to make my own Thai green curry paste recipe at home.
- It is super easy to make
- Taste much better than the store-bought curry paste
- Uses fresh ingredients.
- You can control the spiciness
- There are no preservatives, colors, or chemicals added to it.
- It is much more economical to make at home.
The recipe to make Thai Green Paste can be easily doubled or tripled. It is freezer friendly and can be frozen to use for 2-3 months.
Traditionally, this fresh curry paste was made in a large stone mortar and pestle, but now you can use a blender or a food processor to make it.
This paste is gluten-free and can be easily made vegan.
Ingredients
All the ingredients to make this homemade paste are easily available in the Asian aisle of any large supermarket or in Asian grocery stores.
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 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 can be replaced with ginger.
You can decrease or increase the green chillies as per your liking. I like moderately hot paste, so used 3-4 Thai green chilies.
Traditionally, cilantro roots are added to make this paste as they are very flavorful but I don’t get 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, vegetable oil, and salt.
You can replace dried shrimp with shrimp paste but keep in consideration that it will make the paste slightly brown in color.
Skip adding fish sauce and dried shrimp to the recipe to make a vegan Thai green curry paste. Add some dark soy sauce instead. There are vegan fish sauces available these days. You can use that too.
Add some freshly squeezed lime juice for a lightly tangy taste.
How To Make Thai Green Curry Paste
Add 2 teaspoon whole coriander seeds, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, and ½ teaspoon whole 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
- 6-8 peeled shallots (or ½ cup chopped red onions)
- 3-4 peeled garlic cloves
- ¼ cup tightly packed coriander leaves and stem (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 of galangal, peeled
- 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 vegetable oil
Blend to make a smooth paste, scraping down the sides as you go.
Add 2-3 tablespoon 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 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, then chop the ingredients finely. Pound the dry ingredients until they are fine and then add the wet ingredients.
To make this vegan, replace fish sauce and dried shrimp with 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce. There are vegan fish sauces available these days. 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 made to use green paste, Thai red chilies are made to use red paste. The color of the chilies makes a difference in the color and taste of these Thai curry pastes.
To prepare lemongrass, peel the outer tough layers to reveal the white stem. Just use the lowest 10 cm / 4″ or so. You’ll know which part should be used because the tough part can’t be chopped.
Pro Tips by Neha
Try to make the paste as fine as possible.
Use fresh ingredients to make this paste. The taste of the ingredients shines through and it makes a lot of difference.
When your curry paste is made, do a taste check 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. This way, you can just take one cube and use it in your recipes without thawing the entire batch.
Usage Ideas
Green Thai Curry Paste is used in a variety of dishes like soups, curries, fried rice, stir-fries, and even 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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Recipe Card
Homemade Authentic 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 ½ cup chopped red onions if shallots are not available )
- 3-4 cloves 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 vegetable 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.
Divya
Will omitting shrimp paste affect the flavor of the paste?
Thank you!
Love your blog! I look forward to reading it everyday
Ruchita
What would be the vegetarian version of it?
Which ingredient should act as a replacement for fish sauce and shrimp?
msnehamathur
You can skip using the fish sauce and add some more of Soy sauce for the veg version.
Vaidehi Mohile
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!