Thai Dipping Sauce for Meat (Nam Jim Jeaw)
User Reviews
5.0
21 reviews
Excellent
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Servings
4 servings
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Course
Condiments
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Cuisine
Thai
Thai Dipping Sauce for Meat (Nam Jim Jeaw)
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This is Thai people's #1 go-to sauce for meat; especially grilled and barbecued meats. Works great on beef, pork, chicken and firmer fish such as salmon.
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Ingredients
"Original" All-Purpose Nam Jim Jeaw
- 1 tablespoon jasmine rice or glutinous rice uncooked
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste (see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar finely chopped, packed
- 2 tablespoon finely diced shallots
- 1 teaspoon toasted chili flakes or to taste (see note 2)
- 3 tablespoon chopped herbs such as cilantro, green onions, mint, or sawtooth coriander
Light Nam Jim Jeaw (see note 3)
- 1 tablespoon jasmine rice or glutinous rice uncooked
- 2 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste or sub another ½ tablespoon lime (see note 1)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon toasted chili flakes or to taste (see note 2)
- 2 tablespoon minced shallots
- 3 tablespoon chopped herbs such as cilantro, green onions, mint, or sawtooth coriander
Mellower Tomato Jeaw (see note 3)
- 1 recipe All-Purpose Nam Jim Jeaw from above
- ⅓ cup small diced juicy tomatoes
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Instructions
For All-Purpose and Light Nam Jim Jeaw
- Make the toasted rice powder by adding the raw rice into a small dry skillet over medium high heat. Stir constantly until the grains are dark brown (it may get a bit smokey). Remove from the pan immediately to stop the toasting, and grind into a powder using a mortar and pestle or coffee grinder.
- In a small bowl, combine the tamarind paste, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar; stir until the sugar is mostly dissolved. *If using chopped palm sugar, any stubborn chunks that won't dissolve after a good stirring should dissolve in 5 minutes or so as they sit in the liquid. So no need to worry about them unless you're serving it immediately; in which case you can warm it up in the microwave briefly (5-8 seconds) to help the final bits of sugar dissolve. Smashing the chunks with a spoon will also help.
- Add the shallots and chili flakes and stir to mix.
- Close to serving time, add the toasted rice powder and all of the fresh herbs; stir to mix.
For the Mellow Tomato Jeaw
- Make the all-purpose jeaw as per instructions above, and stir in the diced tomatoes along with the fresh herbs. If you can, let it sit for a few minutes before serving to allow flavours to mingle.
Notes
- Light jeaw is what I prefer for delicate meats (hot pot) or very fatty meats (pork belly). Mellower tomato jeaw is less intense and allows you to use it as a "spoon-over" sauce, as opposed to a dipping sauce, without it becoming overpowering. More info on these variations in the blog post!
- Use tamarind paste from Thailand which comes in plastic tubs or glass jars. Sometimes they're labelled "tamarind concentrate." Do not use tamarind paste from India for this.
- Toasting the chili flakes are optional but adds a nice smokiness. You can buy store bought chili flakes and toast them in a dry skillet on medium heat for a few minutes until they darken and smell smokey. Or buy whole dried chilies, toast them in a dry skillet until charred spots form, then grind in a coffee grinder. (Arbol chilies are a good "medium heat" option.)
- Light jeaw is what I prefer for delicate meats (hot pot) or very fatty meats (pork belly). Mellower tomato jeaw is less intense and allows you to use it as a "spoon-over" sauce, as opposed to a dipping sauce, without it becoming overpowering. More info on these variations in the blog post!
Genuine Reviews
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5.0
21 reviews
Excellent
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