Red Curry Paste

This is the key and primary ingredient in lots of Thai cooking. MAke your own, customiize it to your taste, keep it in the fridge for as long as you like.

my proportions, measured in amounts based on joints of a finger.

Two thumb joints of galangal
One thumb joint of krachai ( a relative of ginger)
three or four cloves each garlic and shallot
three or four pinkies of the pale part of the lemongrass stalk
a dozen black peppercorns
a finger joint of Thai turmeric
a sprinkle of salt
from five to fifteen small (1"-1 1/2" long"dried red chilies. Adjust number according to how "phet" you want it. The smaller the chili the hotter they are. If the little red are too much, go a bit bigger.

Mince all this stuff up quite small, then pound the living daylights out of it in your mortar and pestle. Or, for those soft prosperous westerners amongst you, use your blender or grinder. Reduce it to a paste. I do feel that having your own sweat involved makes a food better.

Anyway. That's the paste.

Now to make a typical red curry:

1 healthy glob of paste
1 glob oyster sauce
a few hunks of meat and vegetable, you pick it. I recommend carrots, cabbage and baby corn. Maybe some small green thai eggplants, little round things about the size of a golf ball.
equal parts coconut cream and unsweetened evap[orated or condensed milk. Sometimes smashed small cloves of garlic.

Put all this in a pot. Bring to a boil. Serve with rice.

So easy once you've got the paste.