How To Make Thai Red Curry Paste

If you want to make your own homemade Thai red curry paste, THIS is the recipe you need. I’ve crafted it to be as close to an authentic red Thai curry paste as possible, while using ingredients easily found in North American grocery stores. I’ve done all the testing and tweaking, so you can create a bold, flavorful paste in just 10 minutes – far tastier than anything from a jar!

A close up of Thai Red Curry Paste in a jar - 1

I LOVE learning how to master new recipes at home, but I have to admit, I ran into some speed bumps when first crafting my red curry paste from scratch. While I’m passionate about staying as true to authentic recipes as possible, living in a small mountain town north of Vancouver, Canada, means some specialty ingredients are out of reach (unless I drive a few hours to the city and back)! Items like fermented fish paste, makrut limes, or galangal just aren’t sold within a 3 hour round trip of my home.

This led me to develop the red curry paste recipe I’ll share with you today – it’s made with some substitutes that are easily accessible, in case you can’t get your hands on the authentic ingredients. Now you can whip up a delicious paste, creating bold and vibrant flavors in just 10 minutes, using easy-to-find ingredients from your local grocery store.

Is this an authentic Thai curry recipe?

An authentic red Thai curry paste, or prik gaeng ped, if we call it by its Thai name, is delicious in so many recipes. However, the ingredients can be hard to find where I live. This curry recipe marries the flavors of Thailand with ingredients readily available in North American grocery stores. I’ve provided several ingredient substitutions below; the more you make, the less authentic the recipe will be. BUT it is delicious and will remind you of the red curry from your favorite Thai restaurant.

Red curry paste ingredients

I adored Thai food, even before I spent several weeks in Thailand with my family. While I appreciate authentic Thai recipes, sometimes I do find it can be tricky to replicate it with what’s available at my local grocery store in my little mountain town. So, this recipe aims to make the most of what’s readily available in North American supermarkets to get as close to those beautiful Thai flavors as possible. Let’s go through the ingredients, and talk about what is in Thai red curry paste:

Chili de arbol: Adjust the heat by using more of less chili peppers. I’ve put a guide to how many chilies to use in the notes section.
Guajillo chili peppers: I like them because they add flavor without much spice. You can also use prik yuak chilis, if you can find them, which are more common in Thailand.
Ginger: This isn’t an ingredient in authentic recipes, which would opt for galangal instead. I use ginger as I can’t source galangal anywhere near my little town, and it’s similar in flavor. Galangal is a little bit more spearmint-y in flavor, but ginger really does have a similar taste.
Limes : Makrut limes (which is the politically correct term for kaffir limes) are less tart than standard North American limes. If you can find them, do use them to make this recipe. But if you can’t, a standard lime will work well.
Fish sauce: Authentic recipes will use fermented fish paste or shrimp paste instead – if you can get your hands on some, use it! Fish sauce is the best substitute I’ve found in my grocery store. You can always omit this if you’re vegetarian or vegan, knowing that the flavor will be less robust.
Lemongrass: Fresh lemongrass is best, but if you can’t find it, the tubes of lemongrass paste in the chilled produce section will work great, too.
Other ingredients: Shallots, cilantro stems, sea salt, whole black peppercorns, and garlic cloves.

The ingredients to make Thai Red Curry Paste - 2

Thai Red Curry Paste in a food processor - 3

Thai Red Curry Paste in a jar on the table - 4

How do you make Thai red curry paste

Traditionally, this red Thai curry paste would be made with mortar and pestle. But, to save some time (and my arm), I like to use the food processor, so it takes a total time of just 10 minutes. This is how it’s done:

Prep: Get your products ready, removing stems, seeds, and membranes from the chili peppers, then soak them in tap water for 20 minutes. Then, pop everything into a medium-sized food processor or blender.
Blend: Pulse to combine, then scrape the edges, and keep on pulsing till the texture is like a paste. That’s it!

Recipes with thai red curry paste

You can use Thai red curry paste recipe in so many meals! On this blog, you’ll find it as an ingredient in a myriad of inspired Thai dishes:

Proteins: You must try these Thai curry meatballs ! Or these Thai chicken wings .
Soup : When it’s soup weather, try this Thai-inspired curry meatball soup . Speaking of soup, this pretty Thai beet soup is delicious!
Curry recipes: Whether you’re having your curry with fish or beef, it’s always going to taste amazing with this as the flavor base. Make this Thai fish curry , this Thai beef curry recipe . Serve up your favorite curry with some jasmine rice.
Vegetarian: Add some satay flavors with this Thai peanut curry . Veggie lovers will adore this coconut curry no cook veggie noodles or this vegetarian Thai curry recipe!
Seafood: I LOVE these Thai fish cakes , or for something different, make this Thai coconut shrimp eggs benedict .

How to store red curry paste

Transfer it from the food processor into a clean glass jar and store it in the fridge for up to a week. You can also freeze it for up to 3 months.

Is Thai red curry paste spicy?

That really depends on how many chiles de árbol you opt to use. If you like it mild, use just 1-2. For medium heat, go for 5 chilis. If you like it hot, 10 chilis will do the trick. If you LOVE spicy food, increase it up to 20 chilis.