Sour Curry w/ Shrimp and Green Papaya (Gaeng Som) แกงส้ม

Step 1

Remove seeds from dried chilies. Combine chilies, shallots, garlic, fingerroot, salt and shrimp paste in a blender. Add just enough water to blend and blend until smooth.

Step 2

In a pot, add the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the fish and let poach just until it's done. Turn off the heat for now and remove the fish with a slotted spoon and add it to a mortar and pestle or a plate. Pound the fish until fine or you can also just mash it finely with a fork.

Step 3

Add the curry paste and the mashed up fish into the broth and bring to a boil.

Step 4

Add fish sauce, tamarind juice, and sugar and stir to dissolve.

Step 5

Add papaya and carrots and simmer for 8 minutes or until it's almost done. If you're using different vegetables, adjust cooking time accordingly.

Step 6

Add the napa cabbage and long beans and simmer for 2 more minutes.

Step 7

Add the shrimp and cook for 30 seconds or just until they are done. Remove from heat, then taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce, tamarind or lime juice as needed. (I didn't quite explain this in the video, but I like to add lime juice to adjust tartness at this point because I like the sharp and bright acidity of lime, and also, my tamarind isn't that sour and I would have to add a lot of tamarind to reach the tartness I wanted, which would make the curry darker and thicker than I would like. If you have tamarind that is quite tart, you may just need a little more tamarind and no lime).

Step 8

Serve with jasmine rice.