Kaeng Som Pla — Southern Thai Sour Fish Curry

⏱ 45 min · Serves 4

Fiery, sour and startlingly light, this Southern Thai curry is all about the balance of tamarind, turmeric and chilli around sweet flakes of white fish. No coconut milk here — just a thin, electric broth you'll want to drink straight from the bowl with plenty of jasmine rice.

Per serving: 295 kcal · 34.0g protein · 18.0g carbs · 9.0g fat

Ingredients

• 600g firm white fish (sea bass, snapper or cod), cut into large chunks
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp lime juice (for the fish)
• 8 dried red chillies, soaked in hot water 15 min
• 4 fresh red bird's eye chillies
• 5cm fresh turmeric, peeled and sliced (or 1.5 tbsp ground turmeric)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 3 shallots, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp shrimp paste (kapi)
• 1 tsp salt (for the paste)
• 1.2 litres water or light fish stock
• 3 tbsp tamarind paste, plus more to taste
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)
• 200g green beans or long beans, cut into 5cm lengths
• 150g white cabbage or Chinese cabbage, roughly chopped
• 100g beansprouts
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method

1. Toss the fish chunks with 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp lime juice and set aside in the fridge while you make the paste.
2. Drain the soaked dried chillies and squeeze dry. Pound them in a mortar with the fresh chillies, turmeric, garlic, shallots, 1 tsp salt and the shrimp paste until you have a coarse, vivid yellow-orange paste — 8–10 minutes by hand, or blitz in a small processor with a splash of water.
3. Bring the water or stock to a boil in a wide pan. Whisk in the curry paste and simmer briskly for 10 minutes, uncovered, so the broth turns golden and fragrant.
4. Season the broth with tamarind paste, fish sauce and palm sugar. Taste: it should be sharply sour first, then salty, with a whisper of sweetness and a slow-building heat. Adjust with more tamarind or fish sauce as needed.
5. Add the green beans and cabbage and simmer 3 minutes until just tender-crisp.
6. Slide in the fish, lower the heat to a bare simmer and poach for 4–5 minutes until the flesh flakes — don't stir, just gently spoon broth over the top.
7. Scatter over the beansprouts, turn off the heat and let them wilt for 30 seconds. Taste one last time.
8. Ladle into bowls with lime wedges and serve alongside plenty of steamed jasmine rice.