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Meat Vegetables Lunch / Dinner Side Dishes

Gaeng om

Published: 08.28.2014 » Last updated: 10.02.2022

Often described as a pork curry soup from northern Thailand, gaeng om isn’t exactly a curry and it’s not a soup either. It's a cleansing herbal tonic and it's absolutely delicious.

Gaeng om

The Atlantic’s Asia-based contributor Jarrett Wrisleywrote in 2010:

I appreciated this Zen description from my host, A-Nong: “It’s not really a soup and it’s not really a curry… it’som.”Gaeng omis often eaten in concert with larb or grilled meats as a cleansing herbal tonic.

Gaeng om is herb-y, spicy and hot. I use “spicy” and “hot” separately because… well, it’s funny how so many people say spicy when they mean hot. Spicy can mean any number of things: zesty, piquant, earthy, pungent and, yes, hot. But “hot” doesn’t encompass all the other spicy flavors so to use the two words interchangeably is simply misleading.

To make the dish both spicy and hot, we begin with a flavor base. Make a spice paste by pounding and grinding lemongrass, chilies, garlic, galangal and kaffir lime leaves together. You can make the spice paste as smooth or as coarse as you like. Use a mortar and pestle if you’re feeling traditional. Or switch to a food processor for convenience.

Sauteeing spices

Heat up a couple of tablespoons of cooking oil and saute the ground spices with a little fish sauce until the color darkens a bit. You add sliced shallots and continue cooking until the shallot slices soften.

Cooking pork and vegetables in wok

Add cooked pork to the spices and mix to coat each piece of meat. Then, you pour in broth. Taste and add more fish sauce, if needed. When the liquid boils, the vegetables are dropped in. Not all together, no. The one that needs to cook longest go in first, and so on, and so forth.

Gaeng om in wok

Sliced scallion is the only garnish that gaeong om needs but a bit of cilantro will give the dish an even richer flavor.

Gaeng om

Connie Veneracion
Often mistaken for a curry dish, gaeong om is a herby soupy dish with vegetables and meat from Northeastern Thailand. While traditionally served as an accompaniment to larb, feel free to enjoy it as a soup or, paired with rice, as a main dish.
Pork is used in this recipe. Feel free to substitute chicken, fish or beef.
Gaeng om
Print Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes mins
Cook Time 30 minutes mins
Total Time 45 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Thai
Servings 6 people

Ingredients
  

  • 2 stalks stalks lemongrass - finely sliced
  • 3 bird’s eye chilies - chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 one-inch knob galangal - minced
  • 1 pair kaffir lime leaves - midrib removed
  • 2 shallots - finely sliced
  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • fish sauce - to taste
  • cooked pork belly - (as much or as little as you like) cut into bite-size pieces
  • 4 to 6 cups bone broth
  • 3 cup cubed squash
  • 3 cup eggplant wedges
  • 1 handful Thai basil leaves
  • sliced scallions - to garnish

Instructions
 

  • Grind the lemongrass, chilies, garlic, galangal and kaffir lime leaves together to make a paste.
  • Heat the cooking oil. Saute the spice paste over medium-low heat with a splash of fish sauce.
  • When the color of the paste deepens, add the sliced shallots. Continue sautéing for a minute.
  • Add the pork to the pan. Stir to coat the meat with the spice paste.
  • Pour in the broth. Season with more fish sauce. Bring to the boil.
  • Add the squash. Allow the liquid to boil. Lower the heat, cover and simmer for five minutes.
  • Throw in the eggplant wedges and the Thai basil leaves. Taste the broth and add more fish sauce, if needed.
  • Simmer for another seven to ten minutes until both the eggplants and squash are tender.
  • Sprinkle in the scallions.
  • Serve your gaeng om immediately.

Notes

Based on a recipe from Joy’s Thai Food.
Print Pin Recipe
Keyword Soup, Spicy, Stew

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Connie Veneracion, Chiang Mai, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Welcome to Umami Days, a blog that advocates innovative home cooking for pleasurable everyday dining. No trendy diets, no food fads and definitely no ludicrous recipe names like crustless quiche, noodleless pho or chocolate lasagna.

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