The most challenging and most characteristically Southern Thai preparation — a thick, very hot curry using tai pla (the salted, fermented fish kidneys, gall bladder, and viscera of the bullet tuna) as its primary seasoning agent. Tai pla provides a degree of fermented, pungent, umami depth that no other ingredient approaches — it makes shrimp paste seem mild by comparison. The curry also uses bamboo shoots (their slight bitterness balancing the intense seasoning), long beans, and eggplant. Gaeng tai pla is not universally loved even within Thailand — its intensity is the point, not a deficiency to be moderated.
**Tai pla:** Not available outside specialist Thai grocery stores and online specialist suppliers. It is the salted fermented viscera of the bullet tuna — a dark, intensely pungent preparation of extraordinary depth. A small quantity (2–3 tablespoons) seasons an entire pot of curry. It is sieved before use — only the liquid is used. Thompson's note: there is no substitute for tai pla in a preparation that features it. **The paste:** A southern Thai paste of dried chillies, lemongrass, galangal, fresh turmeric, shallots, garlic, and krachai — pounded in the mortar. **The preparation:** 1. Crack coconut cream. Fry the southern paste. 2. Add tai pla liquid — carefully (its intensity and salt content determine the entire seasoning). 3. Add thin coconut milk and additional water. 4. Add the vegetables. 5. Simmer until vegetables are cooked. 6. Taste: the salt is entirely from the tai pla — no additional fish sauce is usually needed. 7. Adjust heat (chilli) and sweetness (palm sugar) only.
David Thompson, *Thai Food* (2002); *Thai Street Food* (2010)