NAM PRIK PAO

THAI CHILI JAM

น้ำพริกเผา

15-20 dried thai chilis (5g)

2 tsp white peppercorns (8g)

1.5” piece galangal, finely chopped (about 1 TBL; 12g)

5 cloves garlic, chopped (20g)

2 small shallots, chopped (60g)

2 tsp shrimp paste

25g coconut or palm sugar

75g white sugar

3 TBL tamarind concentrate

3 TBL fish sauce

2 TBL olive or grapeseed oil

3 TBL bacon fat or lard

Yield: about 1.5 cups

I’ve read about a hundred ways to make this versatile chili jam that’s a ubiquitous household staple in Thailand, with variations on pounding before toasting, toasting before smashing, whether to use lard or oil, and what kind of chilis to use. I relied a lot on those by Leela Punyaratabandhu (@shesimmers) and Kris Yenmabroong (Night+Market) and ended up with this version, guided either by what I had on hand or which flavors I wanted to accentuate. Some versions are smokier, some spicier, some stickier. But ultimately, use what you can find, and make it to your own desired taste. I tend to use bacon fat because a) I always have it in the fridge (if you don’t, we should talk about your life choices), and b) it lends a little more smokiness to the jam. “Jam” seems to be pretty standard nomenclature due to its sweetness and the jammy consistency that results from the palm sugar. All in all, it’s smoky, sweet, spicy, and full of umami funk from the shrimp paste and fish sauce. It’s crazy delicious. Serve it alongside steamed jasmine rice, with grilled pork for Moo Nam Tok, or use in place of sambal or any other chili paste.

The dried chilis when cooked aren’t nearly as fiery as fresh chilis, so I leave the seeds. But if the heat is too much, just remove the seeds before pounding. 

Combine chilis, peppercorns, ginger, garlic, and shallots in a mortar and work those forearms. Although some experts admonish against the use of anything other than a mortar and pestle, I’ve also used the Magic Bullet or food processor for larger quantities, but be sure to give a preliminary pounding in the mortar to better extract the natural oils. 

Add a couple tablespoons of oil to a hot wok and add the paste mix. Cook and stir for a couple minutes. When intensely fragrant, add shrimp paste, palm sugar, tamarind paste, and fish sauce, and cook until the palm sugar is well incorporated. Add the bacon fat and continue to cook on medium heat about 12-15 minutes until you’ve achieved a jammy consistency.

Transfer to a plastic or glass container and let cool. Feel free to drain excess oil, but don’t throw that stuff away; set it aside to use for other cooking purposes. 

Keeps up to a month in fridge. Probably more, but it never lasts that long.