Southern Thai Sour Curry (Gaeng / Kaeng Som)

Gaeng or Kaeng Som, is a sour and spicy yellow fish curry soup native to Southern Thailand. In other areas of Thailand, this dish is known as Gaeng Lueng, because in northern and central areas of Thailand, what is recognised as Thai Sour Curry or Gaeng Som is actually red in appearance and is usually a balance between sweet and sour flavours.

Meanwhile in Southern Thailand, this dish is also referred to as Gaeng Som, however, differs completely in appearance with a yellow curry-like soup appearance and flavour, leaning more towards the sour and spicy side. While this dish can also be referred to as a type of ‘yellow sour curry’, Southern Gaeng Som is not to be mistaken with Thai yellow curry which uses coconut milk. Gaeng Som is a lighter, healthier and much more refreshing curry recipe compared to the well known hearty and warming Thai yellow curry. It can be made with almost any Thai vegetables of your choice too, and popular vegetables to use in a traditional recipe include Thai green papaya, long beans, bamboo shoots or even taro.

You will be thrilled to know the curry paste of Gaeng Som is probably the easiest Thai curry pastes to make, it’s arguably even fool-proof. Traditionally this recipe uses a whole fish but don’t be afraid to use ready prepared fish for convenience such as seabass, haddock or cod fillets. Chicken or pork are good substitutes for the fish, but if you want to keep the recipe closer to its authentic ingredients, you can also use King Prawns to replace the whole fish.

Turmeric is one of the key ingredients in achieving the savoury spice and sourness, which pairs wonderfully with the fresh lime juice, another essential ingredient used towards the end of preparing this dish to achieve an authentic sour flavour to compliment and balance out the spiciness of the chillies. Try to add the lime juice gradually, tasting for flavour each time until you achieve your preferred level of spice and sourness. Another good tip when preparing this recipe is to add the lime juice after turning off the heat on the stove, we recommend waiting roughly 2 minutes. This prevents the lime juice from cooking and turning the Gaeng Som bitter. Instead, the ‘raw’ lime juice will add the perfect amount of sourness to the Gaeng Som.