Gaeng Lueang (Southern Sour Yellow Curry with Fish)
A bright yellow, very sour and very hot fish curry from the south, with turmeric, tamarind and green papaya or pineapple. No coconut milk.
- Region
- Southern Thailand
- Condiments
- Fish Sauce, Shrimp Paste, Palm Sugar, Tamarind
- Vegetables
- Bird’s Eye Chilli, Green Papaya, Thai Shallots, Garlic, Fresh Turmeric, Dried Red Chillies, Bamboo Shoots
- Fruits
- Pineapple, Lime
Ingredients
- Paste: 8 dried long red chillies, soaked and chopped
- Paste: 5–10 bird’s eye chillies
- Paste: 5 cm fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped
- Paste: 6 cloves garlic and 3 small shallots, chopped
- Paste: 1 tbsp shrimp paste and ½ tsp salt
- 1 litre water
- 200 g green papaya, peeled and cut into chunks, or 200 g fresh pineapple, or bamboo shoots
- 400 g firm white fish fillets (sea bass, snapper or cod), cut into large pieces
- 3–4 tbsp tamarind concentrate
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp palm sugar
- 1–2 tbsp lime juice
- Jasmine rice, to serve
Instructions
Gaeng lueang (yellow curry) is what southern Thais call this curry; elsewhere it is known as gaeng som tai, southern sour curry. It has nothing to do with the mild, coconut yellow curry on restaurant menus. It is a thin, bright yellow broth that is fiercely sour and hot, coloured and flavoured by fresh turmeric.
Method
- Pound or blend the paste ingredients until smooth.
- Bring the water to a boil in a pot. Stir in 4 tbsp of the paste until dissolved, and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Add the green papaya, pineapple or bamboo shoots and simmer for 5–8 minutes until just tender.
- Add the tamarind, fish sauce and palm sugar. Taste: it should be very sour, then salty and hot, with only a hint of sweetness.
- Slide in the fish and simmer gently for 3–4 minutes, without stirring too much, until just cooked.
- Turn off the heat, add lime juice to taste, and serve with rice.
Cook’s tips
- Fresh turmeric is essential here; it gives the colour and a fresh, earthy flavour that dried turmeric cannot match.
- Prawns or mussels work well instead of fish; add them for the last 2 minutes.
Aroy Mak Mak
Aroy Mak Mak is a small team writing about the food of Thailand and its neighbours: recipes you can cook at home, guides to the ingredients behind them, and places worth travelling for. The name means "very delicious" in Thai. Every recipe on the site lists its ingredients, timings and method in full, explains the techniques that matter, and suggests substitutes for ingredients that are hard to find outside Thailand. The guides to regions, condiments, vegetables and fruits explain what things are, how they are used and how to buy and store them. Place pages are researched from current sources, including the latest Michelin Guide Thailand, official websites and maps, and give addresses, opening hours and what to order. Where a detail could not be confirmed, it is left out rather than guessed.