🐟 Gaeng som (Thai sour curry)
Gaeng som is a thin, sour and spicy Thai curry soup. Pieces of fish are poached in a broth soured with tamarind and spiced with a paste of chili, shallot, garlic and turmeric, which gives the southern version its yellow colour. Vegetables such as green papaya, long beans or cauliflower cook in the broth. It is served with rice and eaten in small spoonfuls.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g firm white fish fillet, cut into pieces
- 4 tbsp tamarind paste
- 4 dried red chilies, soaked
- 3 shallots and 4 garlic cloves
- 2 cm fresh turmeric or 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 400 g vegetables: green papaya, long beans, cauliflower
- 1 l water
- 1 tbsp palm sugar, salt
Method
- Pound or blend the chilies, shallots, garlic and turmeric with a pinch of salt into a paste.
- Bring the water to a boil, stir in the paste and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the tamarind, sugar and the harder vegetables and cook for 8 minutes.
- Add the fish and softer vegetables and simmer gently for 5 minutes until the fish is just cooked.
- Taste for a balance of sour, salty and hot and serve with rice.
How to make it lighter
- There is no oil or coconut milk in this curry — keep it that way and it stays very light.
- Add more vegetables to the broth for a bigger, filling bowl.
- Pair it with a small portion of rice; the broth itself is low in energy.
History
Sour curries are found in many regions of Thailand; the turmeric-tinted version, often called gaeng lueang ("yellow curry"), is typical of the south. It is an everyday home dish rather than a restaurant speciality.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →