You will ditch the store bought curry paste once you try the homemade version. The green curry turns out so much more flavourful and fresh tasting.
Thai cuisine is one of my favourites. I often order Thai green curry when eating out at Asian restaurants. When cooking it at home, I used store bought Thai curry paste for a long time. It sure is convenient and is useful fro days when you are in a rush. But for the occasions when you really want to experience authentic flavours and ready to invest some time in making your Thai curry, this homemade one is totally worth the efforts. The taste is unbeatable. And if you make a big batch and freeze your Thai curry paste, it will only take a few minutes to make the curry.
Ingredients At a Glance
Where To Find The Ingredients?
The ingredients for the Thai green curry paste (galangal, lemongrass and Thai chilies) could be found at an Asian store. I got them online from jjgt.de.
Make a Big Batch And Freeze
Since you have the ingredients at hand, it makes sense to utilize them in the best way possible. I make a bigger batch of Thai curry than needed and freeze the extra in ice tray. Once frozen I transfer the cubes to a ziplock bag. You can make use of them later which saves lots of time and effort when making Thai curry the next time.
Watch the video instructions to easily follow the recipe
Thai Green Curry From Scratch
Equipment
- Blender or mortar and pestle
Ingredients
For the green curry paste
- 2 stalks lemongrass (sliced, remove the tough ends)
- 4 cm piece galangal (sliced)
- 3 Thai green chilies (bird's eye chili) (sliced, use less for reduced spiciness)
- 2 baby onion (or half small red onion)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled)
- 3 cm piece ginger (sliced)
- 10 grams (¼ cup) fresh coriander
- 100 ml water
Other ingredients
- 200 grams firm tofu
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 5 small Thai green aubergines (or 1 regular aubergine)
- 1 medium sweet potato
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 can (400 ml) full fat coconut milk
- 100 ml water
- ½ keffir lime (or regular lime)
Instructions
- To make the Thai green curry paste, add all the curry paste ingredients into a blender. Blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can use a mortar and pestle to make a paste, in which case you will not need to add the water.
- Take the tofu out from the packet and wrap it into a kitchen towel to take the excess liquid off. Cut it into bite sized cubes. Transfer it into a container (with lid) and add the soy sauce. Put the lid on and shake the container to coat the tofu pieces with the soy sauce throughly. Keep aside to marinate until needed.
- Cut the Thai aubergines into quarters. Dice the sweet potato. Thickly slice the red onion. Keep aside.
- Put a pot on medium heat. Add the prepared curry paste. Add 2 Tbsp of coconut milk and sauté until the liquid evaporates. Add 2 more tablespoons of coconut milk and sauté again until the liquid evaporates. Repeat this process until you have used half of the can of coconut milk. This step will take about 7-8 minutes.
- Add the remaining half of the coconut milk and mix to combine into the curry. Add the aubergines, sweet potato, marinated tofu (along with the soy sauce) and water. Mix gently to combine.
- Turn heat to low and cover with a lid. Cook for about 15 minutes (until the vegetables are fork tender). Take care not to overcook the vegetables.
- Once the vegetables are cooked, turn the heat off. Add the sliced onion and keffir lime. Mix to combine.
- Serve over jasmine rice. For healthier option, serve with quinoa, brown rice or cauliflower rice.
Notes
- If you want a less spicier curry, add less amount of green chili. For a more spicier one, add more.
- You can double, triple or quadruple the ingredients for green curry to make a bigger quantity. Freeze in ice tray to use later. You can store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. In the fridge it can be stored for up to 5 days in an airtight container.
- Keffir lime brings a really distinct and authentic taste to the curry. You can however replace it with regular lime instead.
- Depending on the brand of soy sauce used, you may need to add some salt to the curry. Taste it towards the end and add more if needed. You can also add extra soy sauce or fish sauce instead of salt.