Thai Dipping Sauce for Meat (Nam Jim Jeaw)
User Reviews
5
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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)
Description
The sauce starts by toasting uncooked jasmine or glutinous rice until dark brown and grinding it into a powder, which adds a slightly smoky, nutty texture. The liquid base combines tamarind paste, fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar to achieve a balance of sour, salty, sweet, and citrusy notes. Finely chopped shallots and chili flakes are mixed in for sharpness and heat.
Fresh herbs such as mint, green onions, sawtooth coriander, and cilantro are added last to provide an aromatic, green freshness that complements the earthy and spicy base. The sauce is traditionally served as a dipping sauce for grilled meats but can also be used as a lighter spoon-over sauce when using the mellower tomato variation.
The recipe offers variations—light jeaw is less intense, suitable for delicate or very fatty meats, and the mellower tomato jeaw adds diced tomatoes to soften the flavors. Toasting chili flakes adds smokiness but is optional.
Ingredients
"Original" All-Purpose Nam Jim Jeaw
- 1 tablespoon jasmine rice uncooked, or glutinous rice
- 2 tablespoon tamarind paste (see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon lime juice
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar finely chopped, packed
- 2 tablespoon shallot finely diced
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes or to taste (see note 2, toasted
- 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- 3 tablespoon green onion
- 3 tablespoon mint
- 3 tablespoon sawtooth coriander
Light Nam Jim Jeaw (see note 3)
- 1 tablespoon jasmine rice uncooked, or glutinous rice
- 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 chili flakes or to taste (see note 2, toasted
- 2 tablespoon shallot minced
- 3 tablespoon cilantro chopped
- 3 tablespoon green onion
- 3 tablespoon mint
- 3 tablespoon sawtooth coriander
Mellower Tomato Jeaw (see note 3)
- 1 recipe Nam Jim Jeaw from above, all-purpose
- ⅓ cup tomato small diced, juicy
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 variation suits delicate or fatty meats, while mellower tomato jeaw is useful as a spoon-over sauce without overpowering.
- Use Thai tamarind paste from tubs or jars, not Indian tamarind paste, for authentic flavor.
- Toasting chili flakes adds smokiness; you can use store-bought flakes toasted in a skillet or grind toasted dried chilies.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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