Although you can purchase vegetarian green curry paste in Asian food stores and vegetarian markets, you'll find that your own is far superior. Dry-roasting the fresh spices releases the flavor and aroma, and the result is out of this world.
Instructions
1. Remove the seeds from the green chili and chop coarsely.
2. Place the anise seeds, coriander, garlic and cumin in a small skillet, and on medium heat, dry-roast the mixture briefly until it's golden and very fragrant. Stir the spices constantly and shake the pan often. Remove the skillet from the heat to allow the spices to cool.
3. Chop the fresh cilantro stems and leaves coarsely.
4. Place the vegetable broth and sesame oil in a blender container or food processor.
5. Add the remaining ingredients to your blender. This includes the lime or lemon zest, ginger, nutmeg, pepper and salt, your desired amount of shallots or scallions, your freshly chopped cilantro, green chili and spice mixture that is now cool. Blend the mixture until it forms a thick paste. If you're using ground ginger, you need only about a teaspoon, but if you're using fresh ginger that you've chopped, then you'll need more, about 2 tbsp.
6. Transfer the vegetarian green curry paste to a small bowl and chill it until ready to use.
Tags: coarsely Place, green chili, green curry, green curry paste, vegetarian green
