Challenge #1

The challenge for this week is to make a curry paste popular in Malaysian and Singaporean cooking:

Make Laksa curry paste

1 onion, quartered

2 tbsp ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic

2 stalks lemon grass, white part only

6 dried chillies, soaked and chopped

4 macadamia nuts

1 tbsp shrimp paste

6-8 Vietnamese mint leaves (Laksa leaves)

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1-2 tbsp sunflower oil

Mix everything together in a food processor or use a pestle and mortar. If making it in a p&m, leave out the oil unless the paste looks very dry. Store in an air-tight jar or freeze.

Vietnamese mint is also called Vietnamese coriander/cilantro, Cambodian mint, hot mint, and in Thailand it is called Pak Pai. If you can not find this at your local Asian food store, don't worry, you can skip it.

- As made by Jill Dupleix for Good Food Live