Make panang curry paste from scratch!
Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
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Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.
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- Dried Chilies, how much you use depends on size and spiciness
- Coarse sea salt
- Cumin seeds, toasted
- Coriander seeds, toasted
- White peppercorns
- Chopped lemongrass
- Chopped galangal
- Kaffir lime zest
- Cilantro roots
- Chopped garlic
- Chopped shallots
- Shrimp paste
- Roasted peanuts, ground
How to Make Panang Curry Paste
Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.
- Soak the chilies in water for at least an hour to soften.
- Using a heavy-duty mortar and pestle or a spice/coffee grinder, grind the toasted coriander seeds, toasted cumin seeds, and white peppercorns into a fine powder. Remove and set aside.
- Grind roasted peanuts in the mortar and pestle until fine; remove and set aside.
- Drain the chilies from soaking water and dry off excess water with paper towel. Cut into small pieces. Add chilies and salt to a heavy-duty mortar and pestle; pound into a rough paste. Add the ground dry spices to help absorb the liquid from the chilies and continue pounding to a fine paste.
- Add lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime zest, and cilantro roots; pound into a fine paste.
- Add shallots and garlic; pound into a fine paste.
- Add ground peanuts and shrimp paste, pound to mix.
Panang Curry Paste
Ingredients
- 7-15 Dried Chilies, how much you use depends on size and spiciness
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- ¾ tsp cumin seeds, toasted
- 1.5 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
- ¼ tsp white peppercorns
- 3 Tbsp chopped lemongrass
- 1 Tbsp chopped galangal
- 1.5 tsp kaffir lime zest
- 1 tsp cilantro roots
- 3 Tbsp chopped garlic
- ¼ cup chopped shallots
- 1 tsp shrimp paste
- 2 Tbsp roasted peanuts, ground
Want to save this recipe?
We can email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Instructions
Soak the chilies in water for at least an hour to soften.
Using a heavy-duty mortar and pestle or a spice/coffee grinder, grind the toasted coriander seeds, toasted cumin seeds, and white peppercorns into a fine powder. Remove and set aside.
Grind roasted peanuts in the mortar and pestle until fine; remove and set aside.
Drain the chilies from soaking water and dry off excess water with paper towel. Cut into small pieces. Add chilies and salt to a heavy-duty mortar and pestle; pound into a rough paste. Add the ground dry spices to help absorb the liquid from the chilies and continue pounding to a fine paste.
Add lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime zest, and cilantro roots; pound into a fine paste.
Add shallots and garlic; pound into a fine paste.
Add ground peanuts and shrimp paste, pound to mix.
Michelle Chak says
How much paste is required to cook a whole chicken in pieces, please?
Ann U. says
Because I live where it's hard to get many thai ingredients, I'd like to try and just add the 3 ingredients you mention to purchased red curry paste. How much should coriander, cumin seed and peanuts should I add to a 400g package of store bought red curry?
Jethro says
Another gorgeous recipe! I've been teaching myself to cook and your recipes never miss!
I was wondering if the paste can be frozen? Or would that lose some of the flavour?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
THank you! And yes absolutely the paste can be frozen.
Gayatri says
If I were to make this with an immersion blender, should I do it the way you've done your gaeng hung lay curry paste? (Don't rehydrate the chilies instead grind them into a powder along with the pepper, cumin and coriander seeds . Add everything else but the peanuts into the blender and make a paste. Then add the chilli powder and spices and blend again. Finally adding the peanuts and blending?)
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Correct! Except you can add the peanuts along with the garlic and shallots as you'll want it to be ground quite finely.
Steph says
This was fantastic, will definitely make it again. I'll probably scale back the chilli a little to suit my wimp level heat preference.
The coriander roots were the trickiest thing to source; I resorted to snipping them from the contents of a tub of growing coriander from the supermarket, and they were tiny. Is there anything I could substitute for these?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Glad to hear, than you! You can also use the stems of cilantro and it will work also 🙂
Jason R says
Is there a substitute for the kaffir lime zest? I am able to find the leaves but not the limes?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
Hi! You can just omit it from the paste and then add a few extra leaves when you make the curry itself 🙂 You can also substitute regular lime zest but it does have a different aroma.
Jason R says
Thank you so much for the reply. One other question if you have time. I cannot find spur chilis fresh or dry in Seattle. We have fresh Fresno, Birds Eye and Korean long chilis and standard Mexican dried chilis along with Chinese dried chilis. Could fresh Fresno/Korean be used in this or do you have a Mexican chili substitute you suggest using?
colin says
What kind of dried peppers are those? Would arbol chiles work?
Adam The HTK Minion says
Hi Colin! They are spur chilies, arbol is a bit spicy so would remove seeds.
Davi-lee says
Hi, I was wondering if any one knows how much curry paste this makes?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
This makes about 5 Tbsp, enough for one recipe of the panang curry recipe on the site.
Yuko says
My kids have peanut allergy. What can I use to substitute?
Pailin Chongchitnant says
You can use some white beans or another kind of nut they have have, it's just added for extra richness and thickness. You can also omit it altogether.
K says
I did not expect the bicep work out I got with this recipe lol
Blaire says
Incredible!!! I made this last night - insanely delicious!! Perfect balance. I plan to make a large batch to have on hand—we want more. How long does the curry paste last in the fridge and maintain the flavor?
I made with prawns and pumpkin, sourced the specific brands listed for all items in the paste and final product (coconut milk in paper box, fish sauce with lady in boat, etc). Best curry I’ve ever made and probably ever had. Thanks!! I will be making
all of your recipes now!!