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.
**The gaeng om paste:** Simpler than central Thai curry pastes — primarily dried chillies, shallots, garlic, and krachai (Entry TH-69). Lemongrass and galangal in smaller quantities. No shrimp paste in some versions — the herb content provides the aromatic character that shrimp paste provides in southern preparations. **The protein:** Catfish or pork ribs — both traditional. The long simmer of pork ribs (45 minutes) produces a clear, rich broth that carries the paste's flavour. **The fresh herbs:** This is where gaeng om diverges from all other Thai curries. Added off heat and in large quantities: - Fresh dill: a generous bunch — its feathery fronds and anise-adjacent aromatic are the defining character of gaeng om. - Sawtooth coriander (pak chee farang — Eryngium foetidum): a more pungent, robust alternative to regular coriander, used in northern Thai and Isaan cooking. - Spring onion. - Fresh coriander. These herbs are not cooked — they are added to the hot curry off heat and wilt in the residual heat. The entire herbal character of the preparation is produced in this final stage. Decisive moment: The herbs off heat — all of them, in a large, generous addition. Gaeng om's entire aromatic character develops in the 2 minutes between adding the herbs off heat and serving. Serve immediately after adding the herbs — the aromatic compounds begin to degrade from the residual heat after 5 minutes.
David Thompson, *Thai Food* (2002); *Thai Street Food* (2010)