Thai Red Paste
A deep, earthy paste made the traditional way: soaked dried red chillies, toasted spices, coriander root, lemongrass, galangal and lime zest.
makes 10 cubes, about 33p each
- Time
- 35 min35 min prep
- Makes
- 10 cubes
- Cost per cubePer cube
- 33p
- Calories per cubeCalories
- 29 kcal
- A serving
- 2 cubes
- Spice
- 3 of 5
You’ll need
- 15g (about 10)large mild dried red chillies
- 4 (2g)dried bird's eye chillies
- 8gcoriander seeds
- 3gcumin seeds
- 2gwhite peppercorns
- 4 stems (60g)lemongrass, tender part, sliced
- 30ggalangal, sliced
- 25gcoriander roots or stalks
- 2 (or 4 makrut)limes, finely grated zest
- 6 (90g)shallots
- 8 cloves (40g)garlic
- 10gshrimp paste
- 3gsalt
Allergens: Crustaceans. Check the labels on stock cubes, sauces and pastes, as brands vary.
Use it for
Thai red curry for one: fry 2 cubes in coconut cream, add 200ml coconut milk, fish sauce and palm sugar · 2 cubes; Red curry noodle soup · 2 cubes; Thai fishcakes · 1 cube
Method
- Step 1: Snip the dried chillies, shake out most of the seeds and soak in hot water for 20 minutes. Drain, keeping a little of the water.
- Step 2: Toast the coriander, cumin and peppercorns in a dry pan for 2 minutes, then grind finely.
- Step 3: Blitz the lemongrass, galangal, coriander roots, lime zest and salt until fine, then add the chillies, shallots and garlic and blitz again.
- Step 4: Add the ground spices and shrimp paste and blitz to a smooth paste, adding a splash of the soaking water if needed.
- Step 5: Spoon into 30ml trays, cover and freeze. Fry it in the curry, not before.
| kcal | protein | carbs | fat | fibre | salt | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per cube | 29 | 1.2g | 5.6g | 0.4g | 1.1g | 0.6g |
| Per 2 cubes | 58 | 2.4g | 11.2g | 0.8g | 2.2g | 1.2g |
Cook’s notes
- Fry straight from frozen in a little oil until fragrant.
- Large mild chillies give the colour; the bird's eye chillies give the heat, so adjust those.
- Use 1 tsp white miso instead of shrimp paste for a vegan paste.
Use it for
- Thai red curry for one: fry 2 cubes in coconut cream, add 200ml coconut milk, fish sauce and palm sugar · 2 cubes
- Red curry noodle soup · 2 cubes
- Thai fishcakes · 1 cube
Freeze, reheat and serve
- Freeze
- Cool it within two hours, freeze it in 30ml ice-cube trays, then bag and label the cubes. It keeps for 6 months.
- Use from frozen
- Fry straight from frozen in a little oil until fragrant. Never refreeze thawed cubes.
- A portion
- 2 cubes is a serving: about 58 kcal.
Thai Red Paste questions
Which dried chillies should I buy?
Look for large dried red chillies in Asian grocers. Kashmiri chillies are a good swap, giving plenty of colour without much heat.
Why keep some of the soaking water?
A splash helps the blades turn and loosens the paste without diluting it, as the water already tastes of chilli.
What else can I use it for?
Stir-fry green beans in it with a little sugar, rub it over chicken before grilling, or stir it into a pumpkin or squash soup.
Freezer meals that go with it
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Updated . Nutrition, costs and yields are estimates.