Prep time: about 40 minutes
Makes: about 1 cup

1/2 cup dried red chilies
10 whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon whole coriander seed
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
4 stalks fresh lemongrass
1 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro (leaves and stems)
1 tablespoon finely chopped and peeled fresh galanga or ginger
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1/4 cup chopped shallot

Stem chilies and remove seeds. Chop coarsely and soak in warm water, about 20 minutes.

Dry roast the whole spices over medium heat for 3-5 minutes, stirring or shaking to prevent burning. Grind whole spices and peppercorns in a spice grinder.

Remove hard outer leaves from lemongrass. Remove the upper grassy top and the hard root end at the bottom. Thinly slice crosswise and chop.

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth using the chili soak water to facilitate the blend.

Store the paste in a tightly sealed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.

Nancie's recipe calls for additional salt (1 teaspoon) and shrimp paste (1 teaspoon). Do to the dreaded middle-aged white man's disease and a suboptimal gene set, I've left both of these out of my red curry paste.

Derived from "Real Thai, The Best of Thailand's Regional Cooking" by Nancie McDermott.