This versatile curry paste is a breeze to make before you leave home – although feel free to pack a mortar and pestle (or is it pestle and mortar?) and make it by hand when you’re out there.
You can store it in a jar in the fridge – don’t leave any longer than a couple of weeks – or pop it into an ice cube tray and once frozen, store the cubes in a zip lock bag in the freezer.
Too easy. Try it with our Duck Curry.
What you need
- 12 – 15 dried red chillies
- 4cm piece of galangal (use ginger if you do not have galangal, or include both for even more flavour)
- 1 whole bunch of coriander – roots and all.
- 2 stalks lemongrass ( white section only). Smash the stalk with the back of a heavy knife and slice
- 10 kaffir lime leaves with stems removed
- 12 cloves of garlic
- 4 brown shallots
- 1 teaspoon shrimp paste. This is often sold as belacan and is available in little individually wrapped squares.
- Dash of salt
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
What you do with it
- Flatten out shrimp paste in between 2 pieces of aluminium foil and roast over medium heat in a frypan for 2 minutes on each side. If you’re making this in your kitchen at home, open all windows and put the fan on as this will smell!
- Place chillies in a bowl of hot water for 10-15 mins, then drain
- Throw all the ingredients into a mortar and pestle and pound into a paste – or blitz them in a mini food processor. If you’re blitzing your paste ingredients, chop each roughly. If you’re going with the pounding method, make life easier on yourself and slice and dice more finely.
- Pop the lot into a jar and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. It should make a cup. This paste also freezes well – pop it into an ice cube tray to freeze and then store in zip lock bags in the freezer.
Clancy's Campfire 