Special Thai Hot & Sour Orange Soup (Geng Som Pla)

This beautiful soup is similar to hot & sour soup, but better! In Thai, it's known as "Geng Som Pla" - which actually means Orange Fish Curry" - an ancient recipe from the Central Plains region of Thailand. It is a fiery-hot soup with both sour and sweet overtones that make for a lively combination, especially when paired with your choice of fish and/or seafood. Plenty of fresh local vegetables are another characteristic of this wonderfully healthy Thai soup. ENJOY!

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 6 minutes

Ingredients:

• SERVES 2-3 as a main entree, OR 3-4 as an appetizer
• 6 cups good-quality chicken or fish stock
• 2-3 small to medium fillets of sole, snapper, or any "white" fish, cut into bite-size pieces (thawed if using frozen)
• 8-10 medium shrimp, thawed if using frozen
• juice of 2 oranges, OR about 1 cup prepared orange juice
• 2 tsp. tamarind paste (available at Asian/Indian food stores)
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar (more or less to taste)
• 4 Tbsp. fish sauce (available at Asian/Chinese food stores)
• baby bok choy or other Chinese cabbage greens, chopped into smaller "squares" if leaves are large
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• handful of green beans, cut into 2 inch lengths
• 1 small zuchini, cut lenthwise into thick matchstick-like pieces
• 3-4 fresh orange slices, cut in half
• generous handful of fresh coriander
• PASTE: (blend in food processor, OR mince by hand)
• 1 shallot OR 1/4 cup cooking onion
• 1-2 fresh red chilies (depending on how hot you can take it!)
• 1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 kaffir lime leaves, central stem removed
• 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste (available by the jar at Asian/Chinese food stores)
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce

Preparation:

1. First, make the soup paste, either by mincing and stirring all paste ingredients together by hand, OR by placing the paste ingredients in a food processor and processing well. Set aside.
2. Place stock in a soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the orange juice, tamarind paste, sugar, fish sauce (4 Tbsp.), plus the paste you just made. Stir well. When soup comes to a boil, reduce heat to medium.
3. Add the firmer of the vegetables first: the beans and the "whiter" parts of the baby bok choy (if you have cut it) or the Chinese cabbage. Allow to simmer to 3 minutes, or until beans have softened.
4. Add all remaining vegetables, plus the fish and shrimp. Simmer for 2-3 more minutes, or until shrimp are pink and plump and fish has turned an opaque-white. Tip: Don't over-stir at this point, as this will cause the fish pieces to break up.
5. Remove the soup from the heat and do a taste-test.

   Taste-test Tips: This soup should be spicy, salty, and sour but with overtones of sweetness. I usually adjust the taste by adding more fish sauce first (if it requires more salt) - 1/2 to 1 Tbsp. - then work on adjusting the sour-sweetness balance.

   Exactly how sour or sweet your soup tastes will depend on the sweetness/sourness of your oranges or orange juice, and the strength of your tamarind paste (which is very sour). Add 2-3 tsp. more brown sugar, as needed, OR up to 1/2 cup more orange juice (if the juice is sweet). If the soup is too spicy, you can remedy it by adding up to 1/2 cup coconut milk (or, if you don't have coconut milk, 1/2 cup more stock). If you'd like more spice and flavor, add a dollop or two of either store-bought or my own homemade Nam Prik Pao Chili Sauce.

6. To serve, ladle soup into bowls. Add several half-slices of orange to each bowl, then sprinkle over the fresh coriander. Note that cooked noodles or rice can also be added if you are serving this soup as the main entree. ENJOY!

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