Phrik Gaeng Liang — Herb-Forward Paste / พริกแกงเลียง

Ingredients

• For the paste
• 30 g dried shrimp, fresh or very recently dried, sea-scented
• 1 tsp white peppercorns, sole heat source; do not substitute
• 60 g shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 tsp kapi (Thai shrimp paste)
• For the curry
• 1 tbsp neutral oil
• 750 ml water, not stock
• For the curry — seasonal vegetables (summer selection)
• 200 g Thai marrow (buap) or young courgette, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 100 g young corn, halved lengthways
• For the curry — seasonal vegetables (cooler-month selection)
• 100 g baby pumpkin, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 80 g pea eggplant
• For the curry — aromatics (either season)
• 1 large handful sweet basil leaves, added at the very end
• For the curry
• 1–2 tbsp fish sauce, to season; not a substitute for dried shrimp

Method

1. 1
   Place the dried shrimp in the mortar and pound to a rough floss, so the fibres open up and will bind the paste rather than sit as hard pellets inside it. Add the white peppercorns and pound until fully cracked and fragrant, then add the shallots in stages — pounding after each addition so each batch is broken down before the next is introduced and the mass can cohere steadily. Add the kapi and continue pounding until the paste is uniform and no large shrimp or pepper fragments remain; it is ready when it holds together and the sea scent of the dried shrimp rises cleanly from the mortar.
2. 2
   Heat the oil in a wok or medium saucepan over a medium flame, add the entire quantity of paste, and fry it, stirring constantly, so the raw shallot edge cooks out and the paste becomes the flavour base of the broth rather than a sharp, undeveloped mass sitting in liquid. This is where the dish lives or dies — pull the paste too soon and the broth will taste green and abrasive; push it too far and the delicate shrimp sweetness scorches away. The paste is ready when its aroma shifts from sharp and raw to rounded and savory and it has darkened slightly.
3. 3
   Pour in the water and raise the heat to bring the broth to a steady simmer, then add the firmer vegetables first — marrow, young corn, baby pumpkin, pea eggplant — so they have time to cook through before the heat is reduced for the delicate herbs. Do not allow the broth to boil vigorously, as a rolling boil will cloud the liquid and drive off the clean, herb-forward character that defines the soup. The vegetables are ready when just tender but not collapsing, and the broth should remain light and clear.
4. 4
   Reduce the heat to its lowest setting and add the sweet basil leaves and any remaining delicate herbs, so the residual warmth wilts them gently rather than a hard boil cooking out their colour and perfume. Season with fish sauce, stir once, and remove from the heat immediately. The dish is ready when the basil leaves have wilted but retain their colour and the broth tastes herb-forward and gently warm from the white pepper, with no single element dominating.