Gaeng Som (sometimes spelt as Kaeng Som) is a hot and sour curry and is one of my favourite curries to eat, extremely popular in southern Thailand. I made this dish as part of my Songkran 2021 Thai Feast with you can read about here!
Some regions of Thailand have different versions of gaeng som, such as in Bangkok it is sometimes has a stronger red colour and tastes more of sweet and sour curry rather than spicy and sour! Gaeng som is also commonly referred to as ‘Gaeng Leung’ in Bangkok and other central regions, which translates to Yellow Curry.
Which is confusing (I know) because sour curry has a completely different taste to yellow curry that uses coconut milk! Gaeng Som doesn’t use coconut milk, it has a water-based broth and the herbs and spices in the curry paste are turmeric, fresh & dried chillies and garlic with a pinch of salt. That is all - I’ll be making the paste soon to show you exactly how it’s done! So unfortunately, you can not make a sour curry from yellow curry paste.
In the cooking process, you will add tamarind and lime juice to add sourness and shrimp paste (if you wish) to add saltiness. It really is a lovely curry to have and it’s not a heavy meal to eat, so it’s great for the evenings! Let me know what you think!
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Gaeng Som - Sour curry
Gaeng Som Pla Salmon
Southern spicy sour curry with salmon chunks and papaya slices
- 4 Salmon Fillets
- 200 g Green Papaya
- 600 ml Water
- 35 g Thai Sour Curry Paste
- 1 Large Lime (Juice)
- 1 tbsp Shrimp Paste (Optional)
- 2 tbsp Fish Sauce (3 tbsp if not using shrimp paste)
- 1 tsp Palm Sugar
Preparation
Peel the outer skin of the papaya and cut into thin slices. Be careful not to include any seeds
Cut each salmon fillet into 2-3 pieces and remove the skin, take out any bones if any
Cooking Method
Heat water in a sauce pan on medium heat and add curry paste and mix until full blended. Then bring to a boil.
Add palm sugar, fish sauce and shrimp paste (optional). Blend well
Add salmon and then papaya on top. Leave to simmer for 10 minutes, do not stir.
Take off heat and add lime juice before serving with freshly made Thai Jasmine rice. Enjoy!
