Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste

• large shallots↗4
• avocado oil↗6 tablespoon
• large heads of garlic (not individual cloves - FULL HEADS of garlic)4
• inch piece of fresh ginger6
• whole dried Thai chili peppers (they're very small and usually found in the spice section, see FAQs)↗5
• salt↗1.5 tablespoon
• turmeric↗2
• mild curry powder↗2
• roasted ground coriander2 teaspoon
• lemongrass paste (I use Gourmet Garden which they sell at my regular grocery store)↗3 tablespoon
• packed cilantro leaves and stems0.25 cup

Step-by-step instructions

1. 1

   Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. 2

   Prep the aromatics: Peel the shallots – then drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and wrap in foil. Peel the ginger and cut into thin slices. Arrange in a single layer, drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, and wrap in foil. Pull the outer paper off the garlic. Cut the pointy tops off the heads of garlic so the cloves are partially exposed. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil, and wrap each head of garlic in foil.

3. 3

   Bake the aromatics: Place all the foil packets on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the ginger (it should be soft), increase the temperature to 400, and roast the shallots and garlic for another 30 minutes until golden brown and very fragrant. When cooled, you can squeeze the garlic cloves out of the rest of the paper.

4. 4

   Soak the chilis: While the aromatics are roasting, pour boiling water over the chili peppers to rehydrate them. Let them soak for 15 minutes. Drain the water.

5. 5

   Make the paste: Put everything in a food processor or very strong blender. Pulse or puree until the yellow curry paste reaches your desired consistency. The recipe should make about 1 1/2 – 2 cups of curry paste, and I use about 1/3 cup or more in each of my yellow curry recipes, so usually I can get 4-5 batches of curry out of this yellow curry paste recipe. The paste keeps for about a week in the fridge and it freezes well!