Gaeng Om — Northern Herb Curry / แกงอ่อม

Ingredients

• For the paste
• 8 Dried red chillies, soaked in warm water until pliable, drained
• 30 g Galangal, peeled, roughly chopped
• 2 stalks Lemongrass, lower third only, roughly chopped
• 80 g Shallots, peeled, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp Kapi (shrimp paste), toasted
• For the broth
• 1 litre Water or light pork stock
• 500 g Pork (shoulder or mixed cuts including offal), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 stalks Lemongrass, bruised and left whole
• 30 g Galangal, peeled, sliced thick, bruised
• 4 Kaffir lime leaves, torn
• 3 Green onions (spring onions), cut into 3 cm lengths
• 1 tbsp Fish sauce
• To finish
• 30 g Fresh dill (phak chi lao), roughly torn, stems discarded

Method

1. 1
   Pound the dried chillies, chopped galangal, chopped lemongrass, and shallots together in a mortar until a coarse paste forms, working in stages from the hardest to the softest so each ingredient breaks down evenly rather than the softer ones turning to mush before the fibrous ones relent. Add the toasted kapi and pound briefly to incorporate — toasting drives off the raw, ammonia edge of the paste and leaves a rounder, more penetrating savour throughout the finished broth. The paste should be fragrant and deeply coloured; no large fibrous pieces should remain.
2. 2
   Bring the water or light pork stock to a simmer in a medium pot, then add the bruised whole lemongrass stalks, the thick-sliced galangal, and the torn kaffir lime leaves, allowing them to sit undisturbed in the liquid so they yield their perfume slowly and evenly rather than being agitated into bitterness. Simmer for five minutes until the liquid is lightly fragrant. Tearing the kaffir lime leaves rather than cutting them opens the oil cells along the tear line and releases more fragrance into the broth.
3. 3
   Stir the paste into the simmering broth and dissolve it fully, then add the pork. Maintain a gentle simmer — the broth must remain thin and clear, never reduced — because the moment the broth is allowed to reduce aggressively, the volatile aromatic character collapses and the fresh herb quality that defines gaeng om is lost: this is where the dish lives or dies. The pork is done when it yields without resistance to gentle pressure.
4. 4
   Season with fish sauce. Taste: the broth should be savoury and adequately salted — Northern Thai cooking tends to restraint, but gaeng om must not be under-seasoned. Adjust as needed.
5. 5
   In the final minute of cooking, add the green onions and fresh dill, folding them in gently rather than stirring vigorously so the delicate fronds stay whole and release their fragrance on the palate rather than into the steam. Remove the pot from the heat the moment the dill has wilted and turned a bright, deep green, because its volatile oils deteriorate quickly with prolonged heat and the dish will smell of cooked herb rather than the fresh, anise-edged lift that makes gaeng om distinct.