Thai Curry Paste
De Arbol (Capsicum Annuum) means tree like in Spanish. The plant has thick, upright, woody stems and the chile itself is narrow, curved and bright red in color. Believed to be closely related to the pequin, the De Arbol is thin fleshed, with tannic, smoky, grassy flavor and searing heat. This chile has a heat range of 7.5 on the heat scale of 1-10. De Arbol Chiles are comparable to a Cayenne Pepper. Scoville heat units 15,000 to 30,000.
Suggested Use:
De Arbol is a hot chile and a staple in Southwest kitchens. Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish. Be adventurous and add them to your next stew or chili along with the other spices Add some heat to your next salsa or Mexican dish.
Ingredients:
15-30 fresh Thai birdseye or de arbol chiles
10 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp. chopped galangal
1 Tbsp. thinly sliced lemon grass
1/2 tsp. zest of “kaffir” lime or regular lime if the kaffir is unavailable
1 tsp. chopped coriander
5 white pepper corns
1 Tbsp. roasted coriander seeds
1 tsp. roasted cumin seeds
dash of fish sauce
1 to 2 tsp. fermented shrimp paste (kapi)
Instructions:
Mix all the ingredients in a mortar and pestle or a food processor. This paste should keep about a month in a refrigerator.