Thai
Gaeng Jeud (Clear Thai Broth Soup)
A clear, mild broth — not a spiced curry broth, not a hot-sour tom yum — of good quality stock with seasonal vegetables, tofu or minced pork, glass noodles, and a light seasoning of fish sauce and white pepper. Gaeng jeud ('bland curry' — the name acknowledging its gentleness) is the complement to every Thai meal: present alongside the spiced curries, the hot salads, and the chilli-laden relishes as a restorative, mild note. It is eaten between bites of the more intense preparations to reset the palate. Thompson covers it as a canonical preparation that most non-Thai cooks overlook because of its apparent simplicity — its quality depends entirely on the stock.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Six in town · three not yet within reach.
How the 9 are reached
- In town
- 6 · fish sauce, glass noodles (wun sen), firm tofu, minced pork, white pepper, fresh coriander
- Not yet within reach
- 3 · pork neck bones, pork trotters, winter melon or Chinese cabbage
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the pork stock
1 kg
pork neck bones
rinsed
Not yet within reach of Delta · each reach is counted
500 g
pork trotters
halved by the butcher
Not yet within reach of Delta · each reach is counted
2 litres
cold water
Your own market
1 tbsp
For the bowl
80 g
glass noodles (wun sen)
soaked in cold water 10 minutes before use
Origin · KoreaIn town · Bosa Foods · Vancouver → · also Wismettac · Vancouver, SGC Food Distributors · Vancouver · 2 more
200 g
firm tofu
cut into 2 cm cubes
Origin · JapanIn town · T Amano Trading · Vancouver → · also Fujiya · Vancouver, Wismettac · Vancouver · 2 more
200 g
200 g
winter melon or Chinese cabbage
cut into bite-sized pieces
Not yet within reach of Delta · each reach is counted
To finish
1 tsp
1 small bunch
fresh coriander
leaves picked
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Delta →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Place the pork neck bones and trotters in a large pot with the cold water, starting cold so that impurities dissolve gradually into the water and rise as skimmable foam rather than seizing into the flesh. Bring slowly to the barest simmer — never a full boil — and skim the grey foam that rises repeatedly during the first 20 minutes until the surface runs clear. Maintain this gentle simmer, skimming as needed, for 2 to 3 hours; the stock is ready when it has a pale gold colour, is transparent throughout, and has a faint but unmistakable gelatin body — a small amount cooled on a spoon should feel slightly viscous on the lip.
2
Strain the stock through a fine sieve and discard the bones, then season with fish sauce. Taste the broth alone, undistracted — it must read as clean, slightly rounded from the gelatin, and deeply savoury, with no single note identifiable above another. This is where the dish lives or dies: if the broth tastes flat, thin, or lacks that quiet roundness, the gelatin from the bones was insufficient or the simmering time was too short, and there is no remedy at this stage.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
3
Return the strained, seasoned stock to a gentle simmer in a clean pot, then drop the minced pork balls into the broth and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Handle them without pressing or stirring aggressively, so they hold their shape and release their juices slowly into the surrounding broth rather than breaking apart and clouding it. They are done when cooked through with no pink at the centre and the broth remains clear.
4
Add the winter melon or Chinese cabbage and the tofu cubes, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the vegetable is just tender but not collapsed and the tofu has warmed through. Pull the pot off the heat the moment the vegetable yields to gentle pressure, because a minute too long will soften it to mush and muddy the clean character of the broth.
5
Add the drained, pre-soaked glass noodles and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, so that they finish cooking in the seasoned broth and absorb its flavour rather than tasting of plain water. They are ready when translucent and soft with the barest resistance at the centre — pull them the moment they reach that point, as overcooked noodles dissolve at the edges and turn the broth starchy and dull.
6
Ladle into bowls and finish each with fresh coriander leaves and freshly ground white pepper. The broth in the bowl should be pale gold and transparent enough to see the bottom through it — cloudiness at this stage indicates the stock was boiled rather than simmered.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Stock made from pork neck bones and trotters simmered a full 3 hours, skimmed to a near-perfect clarity, with a pronounced natural gelatin that needs no supplementing — the bowl stands entirely on the quality of the bones and patience at the stove.
02
Estate — The same bones and method, simmered 2 hours with diligent skimming; good gelatin body and clarity, though marginally less deep than a full simmer. Seasonal mild vegetables — fresh winter melon, firm Chinese cabbage — used at their peak.
03
Market — A commercially produced pork or chicken stock of reliable quality, ideally gelatinous when chilled, used as the base; produces a competent, pleasant gaeng jeud though lacking the quiet complexity of a long-simmered bone stock.
04
House — A thin, commercially produced stock or stock cube dissolved in water — yields a flat, institutional result that misses the restorative, gelatinous character that defines the preparation's purpose.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The strained stock is pale gold and transparent — a bowl of it should show the bottom clearly through the liquid; any cloudiness indicates boiling rather than gentle simmering.
◇Touch. A small quantity of warm stock on the lip or cooled briefly on a spoon feels slightly viscous — evidence of sufficient gelatin from the bones.
◇Smell. The simmering stock gives off a clean, mild pork savouriness with no off-notes; a sour or heavy animal smell indicates inadequate skimming early in the simmer.
◇Sight. The pork balls, when cut, show no pink at the centre after 3 to 5 minutes in the simmering broth, and the broth around them has remained clear.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies at the moment the seasoned, strained stock is tasted alone — it must be clean, gelatinous, and deeply savoury; a flat or thin broth cannot be rescued, because the stock is the entirety of the dish.
Pillar V
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
From British Columbia
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Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance