A restaurant serving southern Thai cuisine has just opened its doors in my Bangkok neighborhood. I ordered gaeng som, a spicy, sour soup, on a recent visit there. The dish lived up to its fiery reputation, delivering heat with my first slurp, and affirming why locals rank it as the hottest soup on the Thai menu -- ahead of tom yum goong, the piquant prawn soup that is a standard fixture in any Thai restaurant.
My gaeng som was the expected yellow color, conferred by turmeric, and flavored with a blend of tamarind, lime and chilies for a sour, spicy taste. The bowl also included lotus roots and pineapple cubes, offering a contrast to the heat. Topping it off was a chunky slice of fish, a nod to the southern region's abundant coastline.
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