Cooking in
Salt Spring Island
Thai · Central Thailand
Phrik Gaeng Phet — Red Curry Paste / พริกแกงเผ็ด
Red curry paste (phrik gaeng phet) is the most versatile and widely used Thai paste — the foundation of gaeng phet, chu chi, and many regional variations. Unlike green paste, it uses dried red chillies (rehydrated) as the primary heat and colour source, producing a paste that is stable, richer in colour, and with a deeper, slower-releasing heat profile. The dried prik haeng (dried spur chillies) are soaked in warm water for 15 minutes, then squeezed dry before pounding — this removes excess water while retaining flavour compounds. The addition of coriander seed and cumin distinguishes this paste from green curry paste and gives it its characteristic warm earthiness.
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Three in town · two shipped · one elsewhere in British Columbia · two not yet within reach.
How the 8 are reached
- In town
- 3 · coriander seed, cumin seed, salt
- Shipped to you
- 2 · lemongrass, kapi (fermented shrimp paste)
- Elsewhere in British Columbia
- 1 · galangal
- Not yet within reach
- 2 · dried spur chillies (prik haeng), dried bird's eye chillies
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
10
Dried spur chillies (prik haeng)
soaked in warm water 15 minutes, squeezed dry
Not yet within reach of Salt Spring Island · each reach is counted
3–4
Dried bird's eye chillies
soaked in warm water 15 minutes, squeezed dry
Not yet within reach of Salt Spring Island · each reach is counted
2 stalks
Lemongrass
tough outer leaves removed, lower stalk finely sliced
Origin · ThailandShipped to you · Wismettac →
30 g
5
Shallots
peeled, roughly chopped
Your own market
5 cloves
Garlic
peeled
Your own market
1 tsp
½ tsp
2 tsp
Kapi (fermented shrimp paste)
wrapped in foil and dry-roasted briefly, or used as is
Origin · ThailandShipped to you · Wismettac →
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Salt Spring Island →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Submerge the dried spur chillies and dried bird's eye chillies in warm water and leave for 15 minutes, so that the flesh softens all the way through and the skins become supple enough to break down under the pestle. Lift them out and squeeze firmly to expel excess moisture. The chillies should feel pliant but not wet, because a paste made from insufficiently dried chillies will be loose and will resist fat-release during cooking.
2
Place coriander seed and cumin seed in a dry pan over a low flame, stirring continuously so the heat reaches every seed evenly and none catch and scorch on one side. Toast until the seeds smell warm and nutty — not sharp or acrid — then remove immediately and grind to a fine powder. Scorched cumin turns bitter and will dominate every other element in the paste.
3
Begin pounding in the mortar in the following order, working each addition to a near-paste before introducing the next: salt, lemongrass, galangal, squeezed chillies (both varieties), shallots, garlic — building from the toughest fibrous material to the softer aromatics so each ingredient is fully broken before the next makes the mass wetter and harder to reduce. Add the ground coriander and cumin, then work in the kapi. This is where the dish lives or dies: pound with patience and sustained force until the paste is almost entirely smooth, with no visible chilli skin fragments remaining and the mass cohering as a single dense, deep-red compound, because a rough paste will never integrate properly into hot fat.
4
Test the finished paste by pressing a small amount between two fingers and drawing them apart slowly. The paste should stretch and pull cleanly without fibrous threads or visible skin shards, confirming that the cell walls of every aromatic have been fully ruptured and their oils released into the mass. It is ready when the surface appears uniformly fine-grained and the colour is an even, deep brick-red.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Stone mortar and pestle; whole dried prik haeng from a Thai specialist with visible deep-red colour and no dusty odour; kapi aged and dark, from a single producer; cumin and coriander seed bought whole and ground to order.
02
Estate — Stone mortar; good dried spur chillies from an Asian grocer; decent kapi in a sealed jar; whole spices toasted and ground at home.
03
Market — Stone or granite mortar; dried chillies from a general supermarket Asian aisle; standard kapi; pre-ground coriander and cumin used in place of whole seed — the paste will be less aromatic but serviceable.
04
House — A food processor can be used in place of a mortar, pulsing in stages; the paste will be less cohesive and retain more moisture, requiring longer cooking to release fat. Dried chilli flakes are not an adequate substitute for whole dried chillies.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Soaked chillies feel pliable and yield easily under pressure; they leave no standing water when pressed.
◇Smell. Toasted coriander and cumin release a warm, nutty fragrance — the moment any sharpness tips toward acrid, remove them from the heat.
◇Sight. The finished paste is uniformly fine-grained, deep brick-red, and free of visible skin fragments or fibrous threads.
◇Touch. Paste drawn between two fingers parts cleanly, with no fibrous strands pulling away.
◇Where it lives or dies. The paste must be pounded to near-complete smoothness — no chilli skin fragments, no fibrous threads — before it is fit to fry in hot fat.
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Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance