Green Curry Sauce

I bought a jar of green curry paste from the store and after looking at the ingredients realized that it was not vegetarian. I decided to look online to try to find a vegetarian green curry paste recipe but every thing I found had fish oil and shrimp paste in it. So here is my vegetarian version of green curry paste.

Most green curry recipes call for 4 Thai chiles. Feel free to add those if you want it spicy. I try to make all of my recipes mild so that each person can add the amount of spice they want.

A quick note about umeboshi paste. It is made from pickled Japanese plums (ume) that are pureed. They give a salty/sweet taste to the dish and are an excellent replacement of the fish oil and shrimp paste. A container of umeboshi paste is usually 7oz and can be used to make this recipe 3 times with a little left over. Since it is pickled it keeps for a few months in the fridge, some even say it can keep for years. If you can't find it at your local grocery store you can get it online.

Makes: 1 cup of paste (2-4 servings)

Preparation time: 5m
Cooking time: 5m
Total time: 5m

Ingredients:

  • 1 lemon grass stalk
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley
  • 1/2 cup fresh basil
  • 1/4 cup lime juice
  • 2 teaspoons peeled, chopped ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1 13.5 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons umeboshi paste (or 1-2 tablespoons tamari)

Equipment: Vitamix or regular blender

Instructions:

  1. Cut the root and greenery off the lemon grass, and peel off the outer layer. You should end up with a 3-5 inch long piece. Slice it into 1/2inch chunks and place into the blender.
  2. Add all of the other ingredients into the blender and puree until smooth.
  3. See my Green Curry recipe for how to use this Sauce.