Gaeng Om (Northern Thai Herb Curry)

Northern Thai (Lanna) cuisine — Chiang Mai and surrounding region. The use of dill in a Thai preparation is unusual (dill is not a common Southeast Asian herb) and reflects the northern trade routes and culinary exchange with Burma and Yunnan province where dill is more common.

A northern Thai curry of unusual character — a clear, broth-style curry with minimal coconut milk (or none), made fragrant by a large quantity of fresh herbs (dill, coriander, spring onion, sawtooth coriander) added at the very end, producing a preparation that is simultaneously a curry and an herb soup. Gaeng om is one of the clearest demonstrations of the diversity of the Thai curry tradition — it shares the structural logic (paste, liquid, protein, vegetables, final seasoning) with all other Thai curries while producing a result that is completely different in character from any coconut milk-based preparation.