Preheat the broiler. Cut the chili peppers into small pieces & soak them in a cup of cold water for 15 minutes. Remove the seeds & discard them. Put the garlic & shallots on a flat baking sheet & broil for 5 minutes. Allow the garlic & shallots to cool, then peel & set aside.

In a dry skillet, toast the coriander seeds, mace, fennel seeds & peppercorns over a low flame for 5 minutes. Set aside.

In the same skillet, toast the galanga, lemn grass & chili peppers for 5 minutes or until the mixture starts to turn brown. Put all the ingredients into a mortar or a food processor & blend until a thick paste has formed. Add drops of cold water if the mixture is too thick. Store in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator.

* Fresh galanga needs to be broken up into small pieces.

Pojanee Vatanapan's "Thai Cookbook"

Recipes sent to me from Bill, wight@odc. Net