PENANG CURRY PASTE 
In Thailand most people go to the local curry
paste specialist where you buy prepared curry pastes. This was a back breaking
chore when the pastes were prepared in a heavy mortar and pestle. Today you can
come very close to the same result using a food processor. For the full flavour
you should seriously consider the little effort involved in making your own.
Ingredients:
25-30 dried red chilies: shake them to discard the excess seeds. (You
can reduce the number of chilies used if you want a milder curry, but I don't
recommend going to less than 20 chilies.)
30 mL (2 Tbs) chopped shallots (substitute purple onions)
30 mL (2 Tbs) chopped garlic
30 mL (2 Tbs) finely chopped lemon grass
15 mL (1 Tbs) grated galangal (use regular ginger if you can't find galangal)
5 mL (1 tsp) toasted coriander seeds
30 mL (2 Tbs) chopped coriander (cilantro) root
15 mL (1 Tbs) kapi (fermented shrimp paste)
30 mL (2 Tbs) chopped freshly roasted peanuts.
Method:
--- Process together to a finely chopped texture in a food processor.
Transfer to a blender and add ONLY ENOUGH oil to allow the mixture to puree.
This paste will keep about a month under refrigeration or you can also freeze
it. (I put the unused portion in an old ice cube tray and keep in the freezer,
for ease of measurement later.
--- The prepared paste should be
allowed to mature for two or three days before use to bring out the full
flavour.
Note: It is better to make the paste
milder than to use less than about 2 tablespoons in the final recipe
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