Chiang Mai or Hung Lay Curry Paste
Homemade Paste for Northern Thai Curries
Inspired by the desire to make curry paste from scratch again, I discovered the recipe for “Chiang Mai Curry Paste,” also known as “Hung Lay Curry Paste.” I was
excited to try a new style of Thai curry. With this paste, I prepared two curries in quick succession:
Ingredients for 2-3 curries
- 10 dried small red chili peppers
- 1 tbsp coarse sea salt
- 2 stalks or 5 tbsp frozen shredded lemongrass
- 1 cm galangal
- 2 cm ginger
- a small turmeric root or 1 tbsp turmeric powder
- 5-6 small shallots
- 4-5 cloves garlic or a bulb of Chinese garlic
- 1 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 3 star anise
- 2 cm cinnamon stick
- 4 cloves
- 4 green cardamom pods
Preparation
First, place the dried chilies in lukewarm water and soak for about twenty minutes.
In the meantime, toast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, and cardamom in a pan without oil, and remove when fragrant.
Next, mince the galangal and ginger. If using fresh turmeric root and lemongrass, also cut these into small pieces.
Now take the chilies out of the water, drain well, then place together with the salt in the mortar and crush. Then add the minced lemongrass and continue grinding, followed by the galangal and finally the ginger.
Then add the toasted spices to the mortar and crush them as well. After that, peel the shallots and garlic, mince them, and mix them together with the already minced ingredients in the mortar.
Finally, add the turmeric and continue grinding, occasionally adding small amounts of water until a paste forms.
If you’re too lazy to make the paste in the mortar, which is time- and labor-intensive, you can further process the minced ingredients after the initial grinding with an immersion blender, adding a bit of water. However, you’ll definitely get better results with the mortar.
The finished paste is enough for two to three curries and can be stored in the refrigerator for four to five days. You can even freeze it and keep it for several months.
