Kaeng som kung dok khae is a version with shrimps and dok khae, the flowers of the Sesbania grandifloraA traditional and basic kaeng som pla from Southern Thailand
Kaeng som, gaeng som[1] (Thai: แกงส้ม, pronounced[kɛ̄ːŋsôm]), Asam rebus, or Thai/Lao/Malaysian sour curry[2] is a sour and spicy fish curry or soup with vegetables popular in Southeast Asia.[3] The curry is characteristic for its sour taste, which comes from tamarind (makham). The recipe uses palm sugar (Thai: น้ำตาลปี๊บ, namtan pip) to sweeten the curry.
Preparation
A paste called nam phrik kaeng som[4] is prepared as a base for the curry, to which water and the ingredients are added. The preparation of this paste includes shrimp paste and shallots and all the ingredients are pounded with a mortar and pestle. This paste can be made from dry red chillies and one made from fresh red chillies. Some recipes state that large chillies should be used, others prefer bird's eye chilies.[citation needed]
Fish or shrimp may be used as the basic ingredient. Preferred fish are those that keep their consistency after boiling, such as Channa striata or other equivalent marine fish in coastal locations. One variant uses fish eggs.[5]Kaeng som is usually served with steamed rice.[citation needed]
Traditional vegetables used in household preparation include drumstick pods (marum), green papaya, and Sesbania grandiflora flowers (dok khae), including the red variant of the flower in kaeng som dok khae daeng. Other locally available vegetables are used in the traditional versions such as Ipomoea aquatica (phak bung) and Neptunia oleracea (phak krachet).[6]
The versions using shrimp instead of fish are more popular; kaeng som with shrimp and cha-om omelet is now a standard dish in Thailand. Other types may include pineapple or seafood. The common point, however, is that coconut milk is not used in this sour curry.[7]
Believed that this type of sour soup was developed from the ancient food since Ayutthaya period was called "Kaeng ngao ngod" (แกงเหงาหงอด). Which is a food that is similar to kaeng som today, assumed that it was adapted from the Portuguese soup by Maria Guyomar de Pinha, a Japanese-Portuguese-Bengali woman who was the chief of king's kitchen in the royal court of King Narai period.[8]
Variants
Southern Thailand has its own sour curry, which is locally called kaeng som, but in the rest of Thailand is called kaeng lueang ("yellow curry") or kaeng som phak tai ("southern Thai kaeng som") to differentiate it from the central Thai kaeng som. It differs from the central Thai dish through its use of tamarind paste, assam fruit (som kaek) and lime juice[9] to achieve the sourness, turmeric, which gives it a yellow color, garlic, shallots. The main characteristics of the southern variant is the use of turmeric and that it very spicy, sour and salty.[citation needed]
In Kelantan, the Malaysian state adjacent to Thailand, the Kelantanese-Thai dish kaeng som no mai dong is a version of kaeng som with pickled bamboo.[10]
Lao cuisine has a dish called kaeng som with different ingredients; a version of it has pork[11] and kaeng som pla is a fish soup that includes lemongrass and mushrooms.[12]
^Sanitchat, Jam. The Everything Thai Cookbook Includes Red Curry with Pork and Pineapple, Green Papaya Salad, Salty and Sweet Chicken, Three-Flavored Fish, Coconut Rice, and hundreds more!. 2nd ed. Cincinnati: F+W Media, 2013. Print.
