Rezept

Gaeng Som: The sour curry without coconut milk

Gaeng Som is the opposite of the creamy Thai curry known in the West: a clear, sour fish broth completely without coconut milk. Here is how to turn it into a full meal for four in 25 minutes.

3 Min. Lesezeit

Gaeng Som: Das saure Curry ohne Kokosmilch

When people in the West talk about Thai curry, they usually mean coconut milk: creamy, mild, and rounded out with sweetness. Gaeng Som is the opposite of that. No coconut milk, no oil, no creaminess. Just a clear, spicy, and sour broth in which fish and vegetables are poached.

The curry paste behind it is intentionally lean: red onion, chili, krachai, lime juice, and shrimp paste. In Thai, it is called พริกแกงส้ม, Prik Gaeng Som. Krachai, sometimes called fingerroot in English, gives the paste an earthy heat that no other Thai curry has. In Thailand, Gaeng Som is an everyday dish, cooked with whatever is in the fridge and composed slightly differently in almost every region.

Because the paste contains neither coconut milk nor sugar, you decide for yourself how sour and how spicy the broth ends up being. That is exactly what makes Gaeng Som one of the most uncomplicated curries that still tastes immediately like Thailand.

In Thailand, Gaeng Som is usually served with one or two other dishes, accompanied simply by steamed rice. The acidity of the broth balances out whatever else is on the table that might be milder or fattier. It works just as well as a standalone dish, precisely because it remains light while still being satisfying.

  • 4servings
  • 25 min.prep time
  • 3/5on the THAANI scale

Shopping list

What else you need

  • 1 jar of THAANI Gaeng Som, using 3 tbsp for this recipe
  • 800 ml fish stock or vegetable broth
  • 400 g firm white fish fillet, in pieces
  • 200 g radish (daikon), sliced
  • 150 g white cabbage, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • Juice of one lime
  • Fresh cilantro for garnish

Preparation

  1. Prepare the broth. Bring the fish stock or vegetable broth to a boil and stir in the paste until it dissolves completely.
  2. Cook the vegetables. Add the radish and white cabbage and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the vegetables are soft but not falling apart.
  3. Adjust the acidity. Stir in the tamarind concentrate and taste. The more you add, the sourer the broth will be.
  4. Add the fish. Carefully place the fish pieces in the broth and let them poach for 4 to 5 minutes, without stirring vigorously.
  5. Seasoning. Adjust the final seasoning with fish sauce, and serve with lime juice and cilantro.
Gaeng Som is the only Thai curry that does without coconut milk entirely, and that is exactly where it draws its heat and acidity from.

Variations or tips

  • Instead of fish, raw shrimp or mussels also work well; both only need 2 to 3 minutes in the broth.
  • For a vegetarian version, replace fish sauce with soy sauce, fish stock with vegetable broth, and fish with firm tofu.
  • A dash more tamarind and a little less broth make for a more intense, almost reduced curry.
  • The next day, the broth tastes even rounder because the flavors have settled overnight and the acidity has combined with the fish.

Once opened, the paste will keep in the refrigerator at +2 to +6 °C, preferably covered with a thin layer of oil. One jar is enough for about 10 servings, so you can easily cook this four-serving recipe two to three times before the jar is empty.