Thai red curry paste with ginger

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 120 g pepper, red, long, mild, without seeds
• 35 g chili pepper(s), small, red
• 100 g tomatoes, fully ripe
• 40 g garlic cloves, fresh
• 15 dl galangal, fresh or frozen
• 35 g ginger, fresh or frozen
• 10 g shrimp paste (terasi udang)
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 200 g coconut water
• 1 tbsp white sugar
• 7 g salt or chicken broth, granulated (strong bouillon)
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• Glutamate, highly pure (Aji-No-Moto), optional
• 1 tbsp palm oil, premium quality

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 15 minutes; Total time approx. 35 minutes

For all red beef and chicken dishes cooked with coconut milk, a red paste is a necessary ingredient that saves a lot of work.

In a small pan, roast the cumin and coriander seeds without oil until fragrant (see note). Immediately remove from the heat and from the pan. Grind into a flour with the pepper in a grinder or mortar. Mix with the chicken stock to make the spice flour. Remove the stems from the red chili peppers, wash them, halve them lengthwise, and remove the seeds and membranes. Cut the empty pods crosswise into approximately 1 cm wide pieces. Wash the small red chilies, hold them by the stem, and cut them into thirds. Remove the stems from the tomatoes, quarter them lengthwise, and remove the green stems and seeds. Cut the tomato quarters crosswise into thirds. Trim both ends of the garlic cloves, peel them, and halve them lengthwise and crosswise. Peel the fresh galangal and ginger, cut them into thin slices, and chop them. Weigh and defrost frozen goods. Weigh the shrimp paste and crumble it. To make the fresh lemon juice, wash a lemon and cut a piece lengthwise from the base of the stem. Remove the seeds and squeeze the juice by hand. Discard the empty parts and the middle part (which contains bitter substances). Mix the lemon juice with the sugar and coconut water. Heat the crumbled shrimp paste with the coconut water mixture until dissolved. Heat a wok, add the oil, and let it heat up. First, add the garlic cloves and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the peppers and chilies and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Then add the tomatoes, galangal, and ginger and stir-fry for 1 minute. Deglaze with the coconut water. Mix everything well. Stir in the seasoning flour and (optional) aji no moto and tomato paste. Simmer with the lid on for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool with the lid on. Transfer everything from the wok to a blender and blend at full speed for 2 minutes. Return to the wok and allow to thicken slightly. Fill 50g portions into plastic bags and freeze. Note: At 120°C, the coriander seeds will begin to crackle, then stop roasting. The paste is used in conjunction with 250ml of creamy coconut milk and the same amount of coconut water to make, for example, “Red Thai Curry.” The image above shows 50g.