KWR wrote:

KWR wrote:

Brett Maguire wrote:

Hello,

I have two questions regarding Thai curry pastes, the first of which
is about the texture of the paste itself. I pound them using a large
stone mortar and pestle (the kind for sale on thaigrocer.com). I am
never sure just how "pastey" the paste should be. It is clearly one
entity, but it is textured; it would never be mistaken for, say, a
green smooth Jiffy peanutbutter. How smooth should the paste be? Is
it alright for there to be some identifiable pieces of inividual
ingredients, or is that an indication that I need to pound more before
incorporating the next item?

The next question is one about mortar and pestle technique. In Su-Mei
Yu's book, Cracking the Coconut, she writes, "finally the familiar
rhythmic song of an even pounding sang out from the mortar" (page 203
for you following along in the hardcover copy). Never having worked
with a Thai chef, I am uncertain as to what this rhythmic song really
is. I find that by pounding straight down into the mortar, the paste
slides up the sides in about two or three hits, thus making it
necessary to scrape more paste down into the center to continue. The
only other option would be to pound against the sides, something which
Su-Mei Yu warns against doing. With this constant introsion into the
actual pounding, it is difficult to have any regular rhythm. Am I
doing something wrong, or do I just have a faulty conception of a
pounding rhythm?
Thanks,
Brett


Hi Brett,

This isn't a helpful answer to your question, I'm afraid, but an
observation of my own: that the shallots-and-garlic phase of the
grinding process can be really tricky and frustrating. I have taken to
pre-grating these ingredients using a sharp fine grater, then adding and
grinding the grated mush into the curry paste as a final step. It cuts
down on the dual problems of flying shallot bits and half-smashed but
unpulverized flat pieces of garlic / shallot. I used to just slice them
finely before adding, but feel that this way works better.
Whither authenticity, eh?

krnntp

By the way, my grinding technique is a clockwise or counterclockwise
rubbing / crushing / rolling motion. Depending on how much the mixture
is riding up the sides of the mortar, I will either widen the diameter
of my path, or try smooshing it downward using vertical wiping strokes.
Sometimes I've resorted to stopping periodically to wipe the admixture
back into place with a hand or utensil.

Like Brett, I'd be interested to hear anyone's comments on how it is
actually *supposed* to be done.

I'm a bit skeptical of the "bop - bop - bop" vertical hammer approach
which seems to be one philosophical way of approaching a mortar and
pestle. A limited amount of striking seems to be useful to fragment and
destroy large ingredients, but when it comes to the fine processing of a
paste, I feel like I get a lot more return on work when the pestle
rarely leaves the grinding surface.

Best - krnntp

As I write this, I'm watching, and listening too my housekeeper make a red
curry paste....The motion is a twisting/stirring movement, alternating...The
stirring is mostly to clean the sides and position for the twisting (grinding)
motion...

The Bop bop bop is used in making something like som tam, where it's more of a
'softening-up' kind of purpose. Stuff like garlic, is tossed in as a whole
clove, bopped a bit, then, sometimes, twisted, to really pulp it out. Thais
seem to prefer the chunky garlic, rather than a garlic paste, though.

Oh, and the paste is fairly dry....a bit like play dough, or sand with just
enough moisture to mold, but no liquids oozing...

Like this........ (showing it to my com)...See?

Lawrence
Chiang Mai