No matter what recipe I've used, my homemade curry pastes always taste dull, raw and off. They never taste as bright & good & flavorful as the typical prepackaged brand ones, or even curry pastes bought fresh at a market in Thailand. There is a world of difference, and I haven't been able to put my finger on what it even is. The fresh ones especially, they have a brightness and umami to them that I could never replicate - no matter how much makrut peel, lemongrass, shrimp paste etc. I used. Heck I'm even growing my own kaffir limes to get the peel.
At this point, I feel like all those who proclaim "homemade currypaste is so amazing" online are basically just lying to advertise their recipes.
It seems there are well-kept secrets to it. Like there are some secret ingredients in good curry paste that are never listed in the standard ingredient lists. Do they use a special type of fish or shrimp paste? Or some "chemicals" even? Or do they roast ingredients even in basic red curry paste?
At one market near Bangkok, when I bought fresh green curry paste, the vendor added some reddish oil to it in my individual bag, which he said would give "better flavour". I tried to ask what that oil actually was, but he was evasive so I didn't press.
So is there someone out there who can honestly say they were able to make any of the Thai curry pastes from scratch, and it tasted as good as market varieties in Thailand?
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