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You are here: Home / All Recipes / Gaeng Om

Gaeng Om

Gaeng om is often described as a pork curry soup from northern Thailand. But it isn’t exactly a curry and it’s not a soup either.

A bowl of Thai gaeng om

The Atlantic’s Asia-based contributor Jarrett Wrisley wrote 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’s om.” Gaeng om is 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.

Gaeng Om

Recipe by Connie Veneracion
Often mistaken for a curry dish, gaeong om is a herby soupy dish with vegetables and meat from Northeastern Thailand. It can be a thin soup or a thick stew.
Pork is used in this recipe. Feel free to substitute chicken, fish or beef.
Prep Time 15 mins
Cook Time 30 mins
Total Time 45 mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine Thai
Servings 6 people
Gaeng Om (Thai herb soup / stew)
Print Recipe

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
 

  • Make a spice paste by pounding the lemongrass, chilies, garlic, galangal and kaffir lime leaves together. You can make the spice paste as smooth or as coarse as you like.
  • Heat the cooking oil. Saute the spice paste over medium-low heat with a splash of fish sauce.
    Sauteeing spices for Thai gaeng om
  • 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.
    Adding broth, pork and vegetables to spices to make gaeng om
  • 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.
    Cooked gaeng om in pan
  • Sprinkle in the scallions.
  • Serve your gaeng om immediately.

Notes

Updated from a recipe originally published in August 28, 2014 based on a recipe from Joy’s Thai Food.
Keyword Soup, Spicy, Stew
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