Kaeng Tai Pla is a thick soup that is very spicy and salty, and is dark yellow in color due to turmeric. Fish kidney is tai Pla consists of the liver, kidney, maw and heart of mackerel or other fish fermented with salt until the mixture becomes aromatic and salty. There are two type of Tai Pla, the watery type and the meaty type. The meaty type will produce a more aromatic soup.

There are two types of Kaeng Tai Pla, namely the thick type that is eaten with various types of vegetables such as parkia, yard-long bean, luk niang, luk riang, eggplants and horse tamarind. In the second type of Kaeng Tai Pla, various vegetables such as bamboo shoot, yard-long bean, pumpkin, potatoes, cashew nuts and eggplants are added to the soup.

Roasted fish such as yellowfin tuna (Pla O), spanish mackerel (Pla Insee) and mackerel are also added. there is another type of Kaeng Tai Pla that uses cocnut milk instead of water. This soup has a smoother and sweeter taste.

Main Ingredient
Cotton fish 1 fish
Fish viscera sauce 30 g.
Kaffir lime leaves 3 leaves

Chilli paste Ingredient
Sliced turmeric 3 bulbs
Slice galangal 16 g.
Shallot 8 g.
Garlic 4 g.
Chopped lemon grass 24 g.
Fresh hot chilli 30
Pepper seed 5 g.
Shrimp paste 7 g.

* 30 grams = 1oz. , 1kilogram = 2.24 lbs


Cooking Method
Chilli paste cooking
Pound all the mixture until ground
Wash and clean shrimps, cut off the heads before weight, cook with salt until fragrant and turn red.
Leave until warm then peel (edible amount is half of the original weight).
Cut shrimps in one-centimeter pieces for mixing with Nam Phrik.
Prepare Nam Phrik by pound grilled (or by microwave) shrimp paste with garlic until fine, add hot chilli and bash.
Put pieces of shrimps, seasoning with lime juice, palm sugar, fish sauce and ma-kheua phuang.
Serve with side dish; cucumber, wing bean, white turmeric and crispy catfish according to proportion.


Clean the fish, grill and take the meat
Heat 2 cups of water until boiling, mix viscera sauce until boiled, strain and heat
Mix chilli paste, fish meat, after boiling add shredded kaffir lime leaves, serve with fresh vegetables; parkia, cha-om, yard-long bean, wing bean, cucumber