Thai curry pastes are traditionally ground with what kitchen tool?

Thai curry pastes are traditionally ground with a mortar and pestle.

The two-part tool lets cooks crush, bruise, and grind chilies, garlic, shallots, lemongrass, galangal, herbs, and spices into a moist paste. This process releases aromatic oils and produces the dense texture associated with freshly made Thai curry paste. Shrimp paste and other wet ingredients can be incorporated during the same grinding process.

Thai curry pastes differ from many Indian curry bases because they emphasize fresh aromatics and herbs as well as dried spices. The paste is often fried briefly in oil before coconut milk, water, meat, seafood, vegetables, or fruit are added. Heating the paste helps develop its flavor.

Electric food processors are now common for convenience, but they are a modern substitute rather than the traditional method. A whisk, mandoline, or rolling pin cannot perform the same crushing and grinding job. The mortar-and-pestle method also connects curry making with the wider use of hand-ground pastes in Thai cuisine.