Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste
With a hand blender, you can prepare Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste in less than 20 minutes, yielding supplies that last up to 6 months. Using a traditional pestle and mortar, you can achieve the same delicious paste in 30 minutes. By mastering this Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste recipe, you’ll also learn how to make both red and yellow curry paste at the same time.

Learning One Recipe, Mastering Two
By learning how to make Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste, you also gain the skills needed to create Thai red curry paste. The base ingredients and techniques are exact the same, with the addition of curry powder and turmeric for the yellow curry paste. This dual benefit allows you to easily switch up your curry dishes, offering a wider variety of flavors with minimal extra effort. Mastering these two essential pastes opens up a world of Thai cooking possibilities.
Delicious Dishes Using this Curry Paste
This curry paste is perfect for making classic Thai yellow curry with chicken, potatoes, and onions, providing a comforting and aromatic meal. You can also use the paste to flavor soups, stir-fries, and marinades, adding a depth of flavor that elevates any dish. I also mixed this curry with the red curry paste when making my Instant Pot Khao Soi. Moreover, I recently experimented with a Mango Curry recipe by the “Laan Thai Restaurant“. Although this curry is not a traditional Thai dish, it is delicious! I literally reached out to the owner and asked to publish his recipe on this blog myself. I hope you give this recipe a try.
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How to Store Curry Paste
Once you’ve made curry paste, proper storage is key to maintaining its fresh and vibrant flavor. Store the paste in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where it will keep for up to one month. (3-4 months in a glass jar) For longer storage, portion the paste into ice cube trays or silicone cups and freeze. Transfer the paste to a ziplock bag or vacuum sealed so that it lasts up to six months. This method allows you to conveniently pop out a portion whenever you need it, ensuring you always have fresh curry paste on hand.
How to Customize Your Homemade Curry Paste
- Customize the spice level by using only larger dried chilies, such as Guajillo or Thai Spur chilies, for a medium to mild paste.
- To increase the heat, mix larger dried chilies with smaller dried Thai chilies.
- Break down the spice level as follows: 15 dried large chilies for mild to medium heat, 15 dried large chilies with 2 dried Thai chilies for medium to spicy heat, and 15 dried large chilies with 5 dried Thai chilies for very spicy heat.
- Make this paste vegan-friendly by substitute shrimp paste with salt.
- Do not substitute galangal with ginger. They are from the same family but have different fragrant and flavor profiles. See the video below for clarification.
Easy Thai Yellow Curry Paste
Equipment
- 1 hand blender (or granite pestle and mortar)
Ingredients
- 15 Guajillo chilies (dried; see the link)
- 2 tsp galangal (chopped. Do not use ginger. See the link.)
- 3 tbsp lemongrass chopped
- ½ cup shallots (chopped)
- 8 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp cilantro stems ( or roots ; chopped)
- 1 tsp lime zest (Makrut or Kaffir lime is best.)
- 1 tsp pepper (white or black ground pepper)
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste (or 2.5 teaspoon salt)
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 2 tbsp turmeric (fresh or 2 tsp turmeric powder)
- ¼ cup coconut oil (If using a blender. Or use avocado oil) (Omit if pounding the paste with pestle and mortar)
Instructions
Prepare
- Cut the dried chilies with kitchen scissors into small pieces and soak them in hot boiling water for at least 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, chop and prepare the other herbs and spices.
- Chop the galangal, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, and turmeric into small pieces, then measure them according to the instructions in the ingredient list section.
- To obtain the zest, peel a Makrut lime (also known as Kaffir lime), avoiding the bitter white part. Alternatively, use a cheese grater to grate the outer layer for zest. If Makrut limes are unavailable, substitute with regular green limes."
If using pestle and mortar to pound the curry paste, follow the following instruction.
- Pound the herbs and spices in the following order to minimize splashing that could irritate your eyes. Galgangal, ground or peppercorn, lemongrass, turmeric, lime zest, cilantro stems, garlic, shrimp paste, rehydrated chilies, and lastly shallots. This sequence helps prevent ingredients that are more likely to splash from affecting your eyes during the pounding process. Pound until you get a smooth paste. Do not add the coconut oil if using this method.
- Store the paste in an air tight container then refrigerate until ready to use or keep frozen for longer shelf life.
Follow the Instruction below if using the hand blender.
- Place all herbs and spices in a tall mixing bowl suitable for an immersion blender.
- Add coconut oil to the bowl.
- Using an immersion blender, blend the ingredients until smooth. For visual guidance, refer to the accompanying pictures and video
Video
@stickyricethaikitchen Homemade (Yellow) Curry Paste Ingredients ⬇️ 15 Guajillo chilies (dried; see the link) 2 tsp galangal (chopped. Do not use ginger. See the link.) 3 tbsp lemongrass chopped ½ cup shallots (chopped) 8 cloves garlic 2 tbsp cilantro stems ( or roots ; chopped) 1 tsp lime zest (Makrut or Kaffir lime is best.) 1 tsp pepper (white or black ground pepper) 1 tbsp shrimp paste (or 2.5 teaspoon salt) 2 tbsp curry powder 2 tbsp turmeric (fresh or 2 tsp turmeric powder) ¼ cup coconut oil (If using a blender. Or use avocado oil) (Omit if pounding the paste with pestle and mortar) Measurement conversion and tips from the link in my bio. #curry#currypaste#homemadefoodisthebest#thaifood#redcurry#yellowcurry#thaicuisine#kitchenhacks#cocina#herb#spices#tiktokrecipe
♬ Walking Around – Instrumental Version – Eldar Kedem