• Preheat the oven to 180°C.
• Prepare the aromatics: peel the shallots, drizzle with oil, and wrap in foil. Peel the ginger and slice thinly.
  4 large shallots, 1 15 cm piece of fresh ginger
• Arrange in a single layer, drizzle with oil, and wrap in foil. Remove the outer skin from the garlic. Trim the pointed tops from the heads so the cloves are partially exposed. Drizzle with oil and wrap each head of garlic in foil.
  4 large heads of garlic

Roasting the Aromatics

• Place all foil packets on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.
• Remove the ginger (it should be soft), increase the temperature to 200°C, and roast the shallots and garlic for another 30 minutes, until golden and very fragrant.
• Once cool, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins.

The Chiles

• While the aromatics roast, cover the chiles with boiling water to rehydrate. Soak for 15 minutes, then drain.
  5 dried whole Thai chiles

Make the Paste

• Place everything in a high-powered blender. Pulse or blend until the yellow curry paste is as smooth as you like.
  1.5 tablespoons salt, 2 tablespoons turmeric, 2 tablespoons mild curry powder, 2 teaspoons ground coriander, 3 tablespoons lemongrass paste, 4 grams dried cilantro leaves and stems