November 14, 2011 in Healthy Eating, Recipes by empoweringwellness

Thai Green Curry Paste and Vegetable Curry

I love curry. I love the fragrant aroma of curry simmering on my stove top. So much so, that I spent a portion of my weekend making my own green curry paste.

Now you can purchase green, red and yellow curry paste at any quality Asian market (and even from many grocery chains). But, it’s so easy to make your own and you’ll have the satisfaction of making it yourself and knowing exactly what goes into it!

I use a green curry paste recipe that I found online, and I’ve modified it for you here. Total prep time is about 20 minutes. Total time for the vegetable curry is about 40 minutes.

Green Chili Paste Ingredients:

This recipe yields about 1 cup of curry paste. I use the entire cup in the vegetable curry recipe below.

• 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
• 3 green chilies, sliced (Thai chili, or use Serrano or Jalapeno)
• 3 shallots, peeled and sliced
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 2-inch piece of galangal (Thai ginger), or regular ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves & stems
• 1/2 cup fresh basil
• 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp. ground white pepper (available in most supermarket spice aisles)
• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander
• 3 Tbsp. fish sauce or you can substitute 1 Tbsp. soy sauce
• 1 tsp. shrimp paste (available at Asian stores); Vegetarians: substitute 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp. coconut milk (just enough to blend ingredients together)

Green Chili Paste Preparation:

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor, chopper, or blender.
2. Process well to form a green curry paste.
3. Taste for salt and spice. If it is too salty, add some fresh lime. To make it spicier, add more chili. This will stay fresh in the refrigerator for about a week. I also freeze this and take it out whenever I need it.

This recipe yields about 1 cup of curry paste, which is enough for 1 batch of your favorite curry.

Thai Green Curry with Vegetables

You can easily add chicken or beef to this. But, this is my “meatless Monday” recipe for today.

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat 1-2 Tbsp. oil
2. Add 1 cup green chili paste and stir fry for about 1 minute until the spices begin to bloom and become fragrant.
3. Add chickpeas and sweet potatoes and stir for 2 minutes
4. Add the stock (or water) and coconut milk and bring to a boil
5. Reduce heat so that the curry simmers and then add the remaining vegetables.
6. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until vegetables are fork tender
7. Remove from heat and taste for spice. You can add more salt if you feel it is not salty enough. If it is too salty, add lime juice. If it is too spicy, you can add more coconut mi
8. Place into serving bowl and sprinkle fresh basil on top
9. Serve with Jasmine rice and sliced red chili on the side

Serves 4 (with leftovers!)