Dinner · 35 min · thai

Gaeng Som

If you like sea bass fillets, you’ll love this Thai dinner — 35 minutes from craving to table.

Ingredients

• 1.5 lb Sea bass fillets
• 3 tbsp Gaeng som curry paste
• 1/4 cup Tamarind pulp
• 2 tbsp Fish sauce
• 1 tbsp Palm sugar
• 2 cups Water spinach
• 1 cup Daikon
• 1 tsp Shrimp paste

Steps

1. Whisk the curry paste and shrimp paste into 4 cups water and bring to a boil — gaeng som is a water-based curry, thin and fiery, with no coconut to hide behind.
2. Add the daikon and simmer 8 minutes until nearly tender.
3. Stir in the tamarind, fish sauce, and palm sugar; the soup should be aggressively sour first, hot second, salty third.
4. Slide in the fish and poach 5 minutes until just opaque — overcooked fish disintegrates in the thin broth.
5. Add the water spinach for the final 2 minutes so it stays vivid green.
6. Taste and adjust: southern Thai sour curry makes no apologies, so push the tamarind until it makes your mouth water.
7. Serve with steamed rice and a fried omelet on the side, the classic cooling companion.

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