Join the Cooking School

Panang Paste

by Dawn T in Rouxbe Recipes

Upgradeflash

Text Recipe
Related Videos
Comments

Step 1: Preparing Ingredients for Panang Paste

Preparing Ingredients for Panang Paste

To start the paste, boil the peanuts until very soft. This should take about 45 minutes at a gentle boil.

Remove the seeds from the chilies, leaving a few seeds in if you like more heat. Soak the chilies in a pot of hot water for about 15 minutes.

Add a bit of water to the peanuts, if needed, as the water will boil down quite a bit. In the meantime, toast the cumin, coriander and mace/nutmeg, and set aside to cool.

When the chilies are soft, drain and squeeze out the excess water. Finely chop and set aside. Once the peanuts are soft, drain and set aside to cool completely.

Remove the outer skin and finely chop the galangal. Mince the bottom, white part of the lemongrass. Next, finely chop the garlic, shallot and the root of the coriander. Lastly, zest the kaffir lime, and measure the shrimp paste.

  • 4 tbsp unsalted raw peanuts (optional)
  • 10 dried, long, red chilies
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/4 tsp mace (or 1/4 piece of nutmeg, coarsely pounded)
  • 1 1/2 tbsp galangal
  • 2 tbsp lemongrass
  • 2 tbsp garlic
  • 3 tbsp shallots
  • 1 tbsp coriander root
  • 1 tsp kaffir lime zest
  • 1/4 tsp shrimp paste (or to taste, optional)

Step 2: Making the Panang Paste

Making the Panang Paste

To make the paste, in a mortar and pestle, grind the cumin, coriander and mace/nutmeg until you have a fine powder. Next, grind the chilies along with a good pinch of salt. Scrape down the sides of the pestle from time to time, and pound the chilies until very fine. Add the galangal. Pound each ingredient in fully, before adding the next, adding the lemongrass, garlic, coriander root, shallots, lime zest and shrimp paste. Finally, grind in the peanuts.

  • 1 large pinch kosher salt

Notes

Mace is the thin, red lace-like cover on the outside of the nutmeg. It has a very similar flavor to nutmeg; it’s just a bit more delicate. If you can’t find mace, you could substitute with a bit of nutmeg.

Take care when handling chilies, as you can burn your skin from the seeds and ribs of the chilies. Wear gloves or thoroughly wash your hands with hot soapy water after chopping.

The paste will keep for quite a few days in the refrigerator or for several months in the freezer. Panang curry is excellent with chicken, beef or tofu.

Related Tips & Techniques

Dd_mortar_pestle_2_thumbnail

What is a Mortar and Pestle?

 Dd_galangal_thumbnail

What is Galangal?

 Dd_lemongrass_thumbnail

What is and How to Prepare Lemongrass?

 Dd_how_to_buy_garlic_thumbnail

How to Buy and Prepare Garlic

 Ddonions_mince_thumbnail

Mincing, Dicing and Cutting Onions
Dd_kaffirlime_thumbnail

What is Kaffir Lime?

 Dd_grind_spices_still_thumbnail

Grinding Your Own Spices

 Panang_dd_pf_thumbnail

Panang Curry Paste Options

 Dd_salt_thumbnail

Learn About Gourmet Salt

Related Cooking School Lessons

Sorry. There are no related cooking school lessons for this recipe.

Royal K

Mystery Panaeng Paste

It would be very halpful to clarify what one does with it after it is made!

Dave R

Panaeng Paste

Panaeng Paste is one of the most important ingredients in Panaeng Curry with Pork, the recipe for which is available at Rouxbe.com's Latest Recipes page. Happy Thai cooking!

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Made a Big Batch

Used the food processor to make a big batch of this. I made 6 x's the recipe and it worked out fine. It was not quite as smooth perhaps but no one would ever be able to tell.

I still used the mortar and pestle to grind the spices and I chopped everything up a bit, as the food processor can't do it all.

I now have about 10 panaeng paste packages in my freezer. I used some the other night to make dinner for friends. It took me 10 minutes to whip up some delicious pork panaeng. http://rouxbe.com/recipes/202/preview They were impressed...that's for sure.

Vanessa S

Kaffir Lime

What if I can't find kaffir lime? can I use something else? and shrimp paste, I have not found that either or am I looking at the wrong thing? where would I find it? Thanks so much. I really want to try this.

Dawn T
Rouxbe Staff

Where to Find Kaffir LIme

There is really no true substitute for the flavor of kaffir lime, but you could try using some lime zest instead.

You best bet though, for both the kaffir lime and the shrimp paste, is to phone your local Thai restaurant and ask them where they buy these them (perhaps they may even sell you some). This is what I did and they suggested a great little Asian/Thai store that I now shop at regularly. Whereabouts do you live?

You could also order both of these ingredients online. Don't give up the hunt as this is really worth it. I often make a big batch (sometimes using my food processor) and freeze it in portion-size batches. Hope this helps! Let me know how it works out for you.

Jonathan P

Shrimp Paste

Any modification for Shrimp Paste if dealing with a shellfish allergy?

Kimberley S
Rouxbe Staff

RE: Shrimp Paste

There is really no substitution for shrimp paste. The amount is small, so if you have a shellfish allergy, simply leave it out. Cheers!

You must be a Rouxbe student to ask questions and comment. If you are already a Rouxbe student, please login. Note: Individual lessons purchased a-la-carte do not include this service.