Thai Green Curry Paste

The wonderful aromas of a Thai curry perfume the air as it bubbles away in a pot on the stove, transporting me away to faraway lands. If you ask me, nothing beats a good curry!

Thai green curry starts as a simple paste. You don't just have to use it for a curry. You can stir some into a soup to add a serious flavour kick.

For this recipe, you will need the use of a food processor. To make this vegetarian/vegan, substitute the fish sauce for soy sauce. If you only have lemons in the fridge, you can use the juice and zest of half a lemon instead of using a lime.

Prep 10 mins

Total 10 mins

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 shallot
2 cloves of garlic
5cm piece of ginger
1 lemongrass stalk
4 Bird's Eye chillies
1/2 bunch of fresh coriander
12 Thai basil leaves
2 tbsp Thai fish sauce
1 lime
black pepper
2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil

Method

Start by lightly toasting the cumin seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Be careful not to let them burn—they'll only need a minute or two.
Peel your shallot, garlic cloves and ginger, then roughly chop and place in the food processor with the cumin.
Cut off the end and remove the outermost layer of the lemongrass, then roughly chop. Chop the ends off the chillies and add both to your food processor (wash your hands after chopping the chilli as bird's eye chillis are very hot).
Take the coriander, Thai basil leaves and fish sauce and add to the food processor. Zest and squeeze the lime, add the oil and a good grind of black pepper to the food processor.
Blend until smooth.