Thailand - Green Curry Paste (Kaeng Kiao Wan)

Green Curry Paste 

(Kaeng Kiao Wan)

This is a paste for a green curry, and the 'wan' indicates that it should be slightly sweet as well as hot.

ingredients

-       1 cup of prik ki nu (green birdseye chilis)

-       5 tablespoons lemon grass, finely sliced

-       10 tablespoons of shallots (purple onions), chopped

-       10 tablespoons of garlic, minced

-       5 tablespoons of galangal (kha) grated

-       5 tablespoons of coriander/cilantro root, chopped

-       2 tablespoons of coriander seed

-       1 tablespoon of cumin seed

-       1 tablespoon of freshly ground black pepper

-       2 tablespoons of shredded bai makroot (lime leaves)

-       4 tablespoons of kapi (fermented shrimp paste)

-       1 tablespoon of palm sugar

-       If you can't get prik ki nu, you can use half a pound of habanero chilis or one pound of jalapena chilis. If you use the latter deseed them before use. Note that if you use a substitute you will get a different volume of paste, and that you will need to use different amounts in subsequent recipes.

-       If you can't get kha use ginger

-       if you can't get bai makroot use lime zest

-       if you can't get coriander root, use coriander leaves.

Directions:

-       Coarsely Chop The Chilis.

-       Toast the dry seeds in a heavy iron skillet or wok, and grind them coarsely.

-       Add all the ingredients to a food processor and process to a smooth paste.

-       Place in tightly stoppered jars, and keep in the fridge for at least a week for the flavors to combine and develop before use.

The remaining three pastes are all made from dried red chilis:

Those sold in Thailand are frankly stale. Those sold in Europe and America are generally barely fit for human consumption. If you must use them then break them up and shake out the seeds, and soak them in tepid water for about 30 minutes before use.

Preferably dry fresh red chilis. All these recipes call for one cup of fresh red chilis, or half a pound of red habaneros, or one pound of red jalapenas, deseeded. Dry them in the sun, or if the climate doesn't allow then dry them in a herb desicator, or smoke them in a smoker or over a barbeque.

The dried chilis (which need not be tinder dry - it is enough to remove most of the water) are then toasted under a broiler until *almost* burnt.

Treat this stage with extreme caution: if you overcook them a noxious gas closely related to Mustard gas is released. This is quite dangerous -- at a minimum cook them in a very well ventillated room with a fan on and have a damp cloth ready to cover your mouth and nose in case of emergencies -- and disconnect your smoke detector/fire alarm!