Kaeng Khae (แกงแค (kaeng khae))
Overview
Kaeng khae is a northern Thai curry soup of herbs and vegetables, cooked without coconut milk, so the broth is thin, green and peppery. It is named after phak khae, the leaves of wild betel, Piper sarmentosum, which give it its flavour. A paste of dried chillies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, galangal and shrimp paste is fried briefly and diluted with water, and chicken goes in first. Then comes a big mixed handful from the garden and the forest: wild betel leaves, Lao coriander, cha-om, ivy gourd shoots, small eggplants and pea eggplants, bamboo shoots, mushrooms and the dried flowers of the cotton tree. It is seasoned with fish sauce and eaten with sticky rice.
History
Kaeng khae belongs to the Lanna cooking of northern Thailand, where many dishes are built around wild and garden vegetables rather than coconut milk. Its main meat changes with the place and the season: chicken is the most common, but frogs, beef, dried fish or snails are also used. A drier version, cooked until almost no liquid is left, is called khua khae.
Main ingredients
Wild betel leaves, chicken, ivy gourd, pea eggplants, bamboo shoots, chillies. The soup is built on herb-packed northern Thai jungle broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.
Explore: Chicken soups · More soups from Thailand
Recipe
Method
- 1
Pound the curry paste ingredients together until smooth.
- 21 min
Fry the paste in the oil for 1 minute, add the chicken and stir until coated.
- 315 min
Pour in the water, bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes.
- 410 min
Add the hard vegetables first and the leaves last, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes until tender.
- 5
Season with fish sauce and serve with sticky rice.
- ✓
Serve. About 1 h from start to bowl.
In short: Kaeng Khae is a vegetable soup from Thailand, in Southeast Asia, made mainly with wild betel leaves, chicken and ivy gourd. It contains meat and is usually served hot.
Sources
Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.
