Thai Chile Sauce
Instructions:
An essential, slightly sweet Thai sauce (the Vietnamese
nuoc cham is almost identical), used as a dressing for vegetables,
noodles, meats, and fish and as a dipping sauce
for almost any tidbits of food. Addictive, if you ask me.
(Try it with plain grilled shrimp and you’ll see.) Many
people make this blazingly hot; though my version is
much tamer, if you add five, or even ten, small Thai
chiles you won’t be breaking with tradition.
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon minced hot fresh chile (like Thai or
jalapeno), cayenne, or hot red pepper flakes, or to
taste
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon minced dried shrimp (optional)
1 tablespoon finely shredded carrot (optional)
MAKES: About 1/2 cup
TIME: 5 minutes
- Combine all the ingredients and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary (I often add more nam pla).
- Let rest for a few minutes before serving or refrigerate for up to a day (bring back to room temperature before using).