A tangy, chili-spiked Thai fish stew soured with tamarind and brightened with lime, simmered with vegetables until tender.
Kaeng som, sometimes called Thai sour curry, is one of the most assertively sour dishes in Thai cooking, built around a paste of dried chili, shallot, and shrimp paste simmered into a thin broth soured heavily with tamarind. Unlike coconut-based curries, this one has no coconut milk at all — the broth stays clear and sharp, which is exactly the point. White fish is classic here, added last so it just barely cooks through and stays flaky rather than falling apart in the pot. Vegetables that hold their shape under a hard boil — cabbage, green beans, or unripe papaya — go in earlier so they soften without turning to mush. A final squeeze of lime on top of the tamarind souring gives the broth a two-layered sourness that's distinct from most other Thai curries. This is peasant food in the best sense: built to stretch a small amount of fish across a family meal with plenty of rice, using pantry staples like tamarind paste and dried chili that keep for months.
Serves 4
Pound soaked dried chilies, shallots, shrimp paste, and salt in a mortar and pestle until smooth, or blend with a splash of water.
Bring water or fish stock to a boil, stir in the curry paste, and simmer 5 minutes until fragrant.
Add dissolved tamarind, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Taste and balance — it should be distinctly sour, salty, and slightly sweet.
Add cabbage and green beans, simmer 8-10 minutes until just tender but not mushy.
Slide in the fish chunks and simmer gently 4-5 minutes until just cooked through — avoid stirring hard so the pieces stay intact.
Remove from heat, stir in fresh lime juice, and serve hot over jasmine rice.
Use tamarind concentrate paste, not tamarind candy or syrup, which are too sweet and won't give the right sourness.
Choose a firm white fish like snapper or catfish — delicate fish like sole will disintegrate in the simmering broth.
Taste and adjust the sour-salty-sweet balance before adding the fish, since it's much harder to fix once the fish is in.
Substitute shrimp or mussels for the fish for a shellfish version.
Use green papaya instead of cabbage for a more traditional Southern Thai take.
Add pineapple chunks in the last few minutes for extra sweetness against the sourness.
Refrigerate in an airtight container up to 2 days; reheat gently on the stove and add fresh fish if reheating more than once, since the original fish will overcook.
Kaeng som is especially associated with Southern and Central Thailand, where it's eaten as an everyday sour soup-curry rather than a special-occasion dish, often made with whatever fish and vegetables are on hand.
Yes, jarred tamarind concentrate works well — start with less since it's usually more potent than paste made from soaked pulp, and adjust to taste.
You can omit it, though the broth will taste flatter; a small dash of extra fish sauce helps make up some of the umami depth.
Balance it with a bit more palm sugar and fish sauce rather than diluting with water, which would also weaken the other flavors.
Per serving (380g / 13.4 oz) · 4 servings total
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