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Kaeng liangThai peppery vegetable soup
A light, peppery Thai soup of mixed seasonal vegetables (gourd, squash, mushrooms, baby corn) in a thin stock seasoned with a paste of shallot, white peppercorn, shrimp paste, ground dried shrimp and fingerroot (galangal in some recipes), finished with Thai basil and no coconut milk.
Origin and history
Kaeng liang is a popular Thai soup, especially among the older generation, according to Fah Thai magazine. It is known for its gourds, which Thai cooks consider cooling, and as a food new mothers eat to boost their milk. Its paste of pepper, shallot and shrimp paste, with a thin water base and lemon basil added last, sets it apart from coconut-based curries. The sources consulted give no documented origin.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Total time
- 40 min
- Hands-on
- 25 min
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp (about 15 g)2 tbsp dried shrimp, ground to a floss for the paste
- 1 tbsp white peppercorns, for the paste
- 6 (about 80 g)6 (about 3 oz) shallots, for the paste
- 2 coriander roots, for the paste
- 1 tbsp fingerroot (krachai), for the paste; the herb Thai recipes pound in, not galangal; a few cooks leave it out
- 2 to 3 fresh bird's eye chilies, optional, pounded into the paste for extra heat
- 2 tsp shrimp paste (kapi), good quality; for the paste
- 1.2 liters5 cups water, or unsalted shrimp or chicken stock
- 100 g3 1/2 oz kabocha squash or pumpkin, peeled, cut in bite-sized pieces
- 4 baby corn, halved
- 1 small sponge (ridged) gourd or chayote, peeled, cut in chunks
- 100 g3 1/2 oz straw or oyster mushrooms
- 1 handful ivy gourd leaves (bai tamlueng) or Malabar spinach, baby spinach works
- 8 to 10 medium prawns, peeled and deveined
- 2 tbsp fish sauce, to taste, added a little at a time
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 cup lemon basil (bai maeng lak), leaves; added last
Method
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1. Grind the dried shrimp to a fine floss. In a mortar, pound the peppercorns, shallots and coriander roots to a paste, then add the shrimp floss, fingerroot and shrimp paste and pound until well combined.
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2. Bring the water to a boil, stir in the paste until it dissolves, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until fragrant.
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3. Add the vegetables in order of cooking time: the squash first, then the baby corn and gourd, and after a few minutes the mushrooms. Simmer until the squash is tender, about 8 minutes.
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4. Add the prawns and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until they turn pink.
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5. Season with the fish sauce, adding it a little at a time, and the sugar, then add the ivy gourd leaves.
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6. Turn off the heat, drop in the lemon basil and push it under the surface. Serve at once with jasmine rice.
Notes
- The pepper is the heat in this soup, with the shrimp paste and dried shrimp giving a savoury depth; there is no coconut milk. Chilies are optional and only for extra heat.
- The recipe follows Thai sources in using fingerroot (krachai), pounded into the paste with shallot, coriander root and white pepper, not galangal. Some Thai recipes leave fingerroot out altogether (the Wongnai recipe has a paste of dried shrimp, pepper, shallot and shrimp paste only).
- Lemon basil is the herb that marks the soup; add it off the heat and push it under the surface rather than simmering it.
- Thai cooks vary the vegetables with what is at hand: pumpkin, baby corn, luffa (sponge gourd), bottle gourd, ivy gourd, straw mushrooms and young galangal all appear in Thai recipes. Where gourds are hard to find, one recipe suggests zucchini and yellow squash, with baby spinach for the ivy gourd leaves.
- Good-quality shrimp paste is essential; the prawns themselves are optional. Water is traditional; shrimp or chicken stock gives a sweeter broth.
- Thai cooks consider the soup a food for new mothers, said to help bring in their milk. This is a folk belief, not a medical claim.
- Make ahead: one Thai cook's recipe says the soup rests well overnight in the fridge and tastes better the next day.
Adapted from Chef McDang, Principles of Thai Cookery (as adapted on Bangkok Glutton), Phol Tantasathien, Spicy Prawn and Vegetable Soup (Pholfoodmafia), Wongnai, Thai spicy mixed vegetable soup (Kaeng liang), and Rachel Cooks Thai, Spicy Vegetable Soup (Gang Liang).
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