Spicy Vegetable and Shrimp Soup (Kaeng Liang)
A rustic, warming Thai soup where mixed vegetables and plump shrimp simmer in a fragrant broth of pounded shallots, white pepper and shrimp paste, finished with a handful of peppery hairy basil.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Pound the paste
In a mortar, pound the white peppercorns first until cracked, then add the shallots, shrimp paste and soaked dried shrimp. Pound everything together into a rough, sticky, fragrant paste — a food processor works too, with a splash of water to help it along. Cracking the peppercorns first is what releases their full peppery bite.
- 1 tbsp white peppercorns
- 100 g shallots
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste
- 2 tbsp dried shrimp
✅ Done when: the mixture looks rough and sticky, with no large pieces of shallot left
Simmer the paste
Bring the water or stock to a boil in a pot. Stir in the pounded paste and let it dissolve into the liquid, simmering for 3–4 minutes until the broth turns fragrant and lightly cloudy. This builds the whole flavour of the soup, so give it this short head start before adding anything else.
- 1 litre water or stock
✅ Done when: the broth smells peppery and fragrant and looks slightly cloudy
Add the pumpkin
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Add the vegetables
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Cook the shrimp
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Finish with basil
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Pound the paste
In a mortar, pound the white peppercorns first until cracked, then add the shallots, shrimp paste and soaked dried shrimp. Pound everything together into a rough, sticky, fragrant paste — a food processor works too, with a splash of water to help it along. Cracking the peppercorns first is what releases their full peppery bite.
- 1 tbsp white peppercorns
- 100 g shallots
- 1 tbsp shrimp paste
- 2 tbsp dried shrimp
✅ Done when: the mixture looks rough and sticky, with no large pieces of shallot left
Simmer the paste
Bring the water or stock to a boil in a pot. Stir in the pounded paste and let it dissolve into the liquid, simmering for 3–4 minutes until the broth turns fragrant and lightly cloudy. This builds the whole flavour of the soup, so give it this short head start before adding anything else.
- 1 litre water or stock
✅ Done when: the broth smells peppery and fragrant and looks slightly cloudy
Add the pumpkin
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Add the vegetables
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Cook the shrimp
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Finish with basil
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The Story Behind the Dish
Kaeng Liang is one of the oldest, plainest soups in the Thai home kitchen, built from whatever vegetables were on hand with a quick pounded paste of shallot, pepper and shrimp paste instead of a long curry paste. Its name, meaning roughly "simple soup," reflects how it was cooked for speed and ease rather than show, often as a one-pot meal to go with plain rice.
It remains a staple of everyday Thai cooking, especially loved for its peppery warmth and the way it uses up whatever vegetables are in season.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Its direct, peppery heat and herbal lift from hairy basil make it feel both humble and deeply comforting, a soup that tastes like someone's home kitchen rather than a restaurant.
💡 Fun Fact
Kaeng Liang is traditionally given to new mothers in Thailand, as the peppery broth and herbs are believed to help bring in breast milk.
Central Thailand
13.76°N, 100.50°E
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