I Add This Zesty and Spicy Thai Sauce to Every Rice Dish.
Some people always add the same seasoning to their food, no matter what they have for dinner. You know the type—you might be that type: the people with ketchup on their balls. Guys, hot sauce on everything. Well, I like to pat myself on the back for adding different seasonings to different dishes, but even I make one exception, and that’s for the sake of it. I simply have to add this Thai sauce to every rice dish I eat.
When I was little, my mother would make me and my brothers dinner, then sit down with her plate and inevitably pull out a used plastic cube container filled with a mystery liquid. I watched her put brown sauce and chili on the rice, and within five minutes she was covered in sweat and a runny nose. It took a while before I fell in love with this thing too, but for the uninitiated, a runny nose is a good sign that you’ve prepared your pri-nam pla correctly.
What is prik us pla?
Prik nam pla is a Thai condiment made from fish sauce, a little lime juice, and a ton of chopped Thai chili peppers—more Thai chili peppers than you think is safe. I’m kidding – you can adjust the amount – but I really enjoy the feeling of danger when I do it for myself. Plus, Asian grocery stores sell chili in huge bags for $3, so you don’t have to spend much. (You can also freeze them .)
Prik nam pla, sometimes called nam pla prik, means hot or peppery fish sauce. While the name gives an idea of its composition, I feel the simplicity doesn’t do the complex flavor profile justice. The reason I need to eat it with every savory rice dish is because of its wonderful umami flavor. It’s mostly fish sauce that accounts for the umami, but a special balance is achieved by adding acid from the lime juice.
Why Prik Nam Pla is the Ideal Seasoning
Most of the time my rice is accompanied by meat or eggs , and usually includes vegetables. The fish sauce is flavorful and salty. All you need is a tiny spoon and it intensifies all the savory flavors so they practically jump onto your tongue. The lime juice brightens the sauce so the flavor isn’t overpowering or drains your taste buds. I like chili peppers because they sharpen my senses, but if you don’t like spice, don’t let that stop you: technically, you can skip the peppers altogether, or just reduce the spices by about 90% by removing the seeds and deseeding them. -kick them first. Then try eating a small portion of the food and see how it goes.
This recipe makes about a tablespoon of the spicy seasoning, and you can serve it with rice or noodle dishes, soups, or even use it as a sauce for squid or chicken nuggets. While a tablespoon may seem like a small amount, it’s actually quite powerful. I don’t save it, I just make it fresh every time.
To use it, I put in the smallest piece of rice, mix it into that area of food and enjoy. I’ll add more as I move on. I take a little chilli at the beginning and later, if I have enough spices, I leave those slices. If you want a little more flavor, you can usually add chopped raw garlic or chopped shallots to this mixture, but I usually like to keep it simple.
Simple Prik Nam Pla Recipe
Ingredients:
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1 ½ teaspoons fish sauce
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1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lime juice
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1-4 Thai chili peppers, sliced
1. Combine fish sauce and lime juice in a tiny saucer or bowl. Add chili powder and enjoy.