© Copyright 1995-2023, Clay Irving <clay@panix.com>, Manhattan Beach, CA USA
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Recipe from: Colonel Ian F. Khuntilanont-Philpott
This is a popular fish soup that is quite common in Thailand, where it is usually prepared using a local fish known as pla chon. However for the purpose of this recipe, I suggest using tinned herrings packed in brine. It can also be prepared just as successfully using chicken and chicken stock (when it is known as gaeng som kai).
If you can't find krachai (lesser ginger) then use ordinary ginger.
1 ½ pounds. fish fillets.
4 cup fish stock
3 tablespoon chopped garlic
3 tablespoon chopped shallots
3 tablespoon krachai (lesser ginger), thinly sliced
3 tablespoon mixed red and green prik chi fa (jalapeños), thinly sliced
1 teaspoon kapi (shrimp paste)
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup tamarind juice
1-2 tablespoon palm sugar (to taste)
2 cup very coarsely chopped green vegetables
Heat the stock to simmering point, and add all the ingredients except the fish and return it to the boil. Add the fish and simmer until the fish is cooked through. This dish can be eaten as a soup course, but as I have remarked before in Thailand soups are normally eaten with the other dishes of the dinner, rather than before them. Therefore you should use a slotted spoon to remove the fish and serve it in individual bowls to the diners, the soup liquor is then placed in a large serving bowl, from where they can help themselves (you can use a fire pot of fondue cooker to keep it hot if you wish).