40 min
Hands-on time
MediumDifficulty
5 stepsSteps
Method
- 1 Grill the dried fish over charcoal until it has a smoky aroma, then tear it into pieces and discard the bones.
- 2 Grill the dried chilies, dried onions, and galangal until the skin is slightly charred; this is the source of the smoky flavor of the dish.
- 3 Boil water with crushed lemongrass and Thai lime leaves.
- 4 Add the grilled fish and the grilled spices, and simmer for 15 minutes.
- 5 Add the tamarind juice to make it sour, season with fish sauce, then turn off the heat.
With an appliance
-
Air fryer 38 min
Replace steps 1 and 2: Grill the dried fish, dried chili peppers, dried onions, and galangal in an air fryer at 200 degrees for 7 minutes, remove the chili peppers at minute 4, and flip the fish at minute 5. The smoky flavor will be milder than charcoal grilling, but the ingredients will still be slightly charred and fragrant before cooking in the soup.