Easy curry paste recipes | Jamie Oliver recipes (2024)

FAQs

How do you use Jamie Oliver curry paste? ›

Preparation and Usage

For a meat or veg curry, heat a splash of oil, then add the paste and diced meat or roughly chopped root veg, and fry for about 5 minutes, before adding tomatoes, passata or coconut milk with a splash of stock to make your sauce. Stir in pulses.

Probably the most common use for Thai curry paste is in curries and stews. Cook the curry paste in a little oil first to bring out its flavors, then coat proteins — like chicken, pork, or tofu — and vegetables with the warmed paste before slow cooking until everything is flavorful and tender.

To make the curry paste, peel, roughly chop and place the garlic, shallots and ginger into a food processor. Trim the lemongrass, remove the tough outer leaves, then finely chop and add to the processor. Trim and add the chillies along with the cumin and half the coriander (stalks and all).

Add in more dried spices. Nearly all the Central Thai curry pastes call for a small amount of white pepper, cumin and coriander seeds. To my taste, the aroma from these spices are among the first I notice when I eat green, masaman or panang curry.

The whole jar is ample for a family of four but if you're cooking for two, the reminder can be stored in the fridge for 5 days or frozen.

But for a more pungent, spicy paste, double up on spicy chilies and skip the bell pepper. Spices come in the form of turmeric, coriander, cumin, sea salt, and black peppercorn. And for a little acidity, I used both lime and lemon juice as well as lime zest.

The paste is mixed with coconut milk or water plus vegetables, meat or seafood, then served up on a bed of jasmine or sticky rice. You can also use Thai curry paste in warming soups and sizzling stir fries.

Cook the paste in oil for 1-2 minutes before adding other ingredients. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons (15 to 30 mL) of olive oil to a pan on medium and let it heat up. Spoon in the amount of curry paste you want to use, and stir it around for a few minutes, which will help release the paste's flavors.

Curry paste is a wet ingredient made with fresh chilies. It must be dissolved into a liquid during the cooking process. Curry powder is a dry ingredient that must be activated with a liquid or oil. It does not include fresh chilies, so it will be much less spicy than a curry paste.

How much curry paste to use? ›

The amount of curry paste you use for one batch of curry depends on the strength of your paste and your personal spice tolerance, so taste the paste before you start! If it's really strong, start with about 2 tablespoons of paste for a batch of curry for four.

You want to be able to control the spiciness of your curry paste. This is one problem with store bought - if it's too spicy, the only thing you can do is to use less; but that also means weaker flavours. Making your own is a great way to make it as mild as you can tolerate.

While the dish's spiciness can vary based on the chef, typically, red curry is hotter than green. Red curry tends to be more versatile, while green is more unique in its flavors.

Traditionally, all Thai curries were made with the same ingredients except for one thing: the chilies. Red curry was made with several red chilies for a fiery hot dish, while green curry was made with green chilies and yellow curry was made with yellow chilies.

Fry onions in oil until soft. Add some curry spice paste and gently cook for a few minutes. This allows the spices to release all their • wonderful flavours and aromas. Next add your meat or vegetables and cook until sealed.

The amount of curry paste you use for one batch of curry depends on the strength of your paste and your personal spice tolerance, so taste the paste before you start! If it's really strong, start with about 2 tablespoons of paste for a batch of curry for four.