This ajat dtaeng gwa Thai cucumber relish recipe will make you the perfect accompaniment to that geng gari gai aromatic chicken curry recipe from Thailand that we shared with you. The cucumber side is piquant, cooling and refreshing, making it ideal for any spicy Thai curries, so don’t feel you need it limit to geng gari gai.

This recipe for ajat dtaeng gwa or Thai cucumber relish will make you a quick and easy side that Thai chefs typically translate as a relish, although it won’t make the chutney or pickles-style of relish you might think of as a relish. Rather it’s an accompaniment or condiment that’s all at once refreshing and cooling, a little hot from the mild chilli, and sweet and sour.

The first time I savoured the Southern Thailand dish called geng gari gai or aromatic chicken curry, ajat dtaeng gwa was a revelation. It was not just the flavour of the salty, spicy, creamy, and rich curry, but it was also how it was complimented by what it was served with – ajat dtaeng gwa, Thai cucumber relish, and roti.

While this ajat dtaeng gwa or Thai cucumber relish is a perfect match for geng gari gai, you could easily serve it with any Thai curry.

Ajat Dtaeng Gwa Thai Cucumber Relish Recipe – The Perfect Accompaniment to Geng Gari Gai

There is a myth that Thai food is a canonically pure indigenous cuisine that mysteriously emerged, fully formed, in the 13th century when Thailand’s first capital was established at Sukhothai in 1279. The reality is that the influences on Thai cuisine run deep and wide across Asia: Cambodia, China, Laos, Burma, India, Iran (which was then Persia), and the Middle East.

Indeed, Sukhothai had been an Angkor outpost when Tai tribal chiefs overthrew its Khmer commander. Their occupation of Sukhothai was one step in what was a “slow, but relentless, southern migration of Tai settlers, often at the expense of Mon-Khmer populations, which had its origins in southern China in the sixth century BC” according to J.M. Barwise and N.J. White in A Traveller’s History of Southeast Asia.

In Southern Thailand, as we learnt during our month of culinary research on Phuket, the influences on the island’s cuisine came from all directions, but mainly from maritime traders, sailors, tin miners and cooks who arrived by sea from India, Persia, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.

With geng gari gai and its traditional accompaniment, this Thai cucumber relish or ajat dtaeng gwa, the influence is clearly from India and indeed gari is the Tamil word for curry. Another sign of its origins? The flaky pieces of roti which are typically dipped into the curry sauce or used to scoop up the curry and relish.

Since I first tried the curry at David Thompson’s cooking demonstration, held during the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards, and started cooking it at home, I haven’t been able to eat it without this crisp, sweet and sour cucumber relish.

Tips to Making Ajat Dtaeng Gwa Thai Cucumber Relish Recipe

It’s such a refreshing taste after every mouthful of one of the most tremendously flavoured curries in the Thai repertoire. If you don’t need the relish, to me you haven’t made the curry rich enough.

While you’ll labour over making the curry, this Thai cucumber relish recipe is very simple. It also goes well with that classic Thai staple, fish cakes.

When it comes to the white vinegar, you could use a Southeast Asian white vinegar, but any white vinegar will work at a stretch.

Make sure your cucumbers are nice and fresh and crunchy.

You also want fresh ginger. Ground ginger won’t work.

Use the long red chillies, which are mild. While they still have a little heat, which is a nice contrast to the cucumbers, you don’t want to use the small fiery red bird’s eye chillies.