Thai Chili Relish | Nam Phrik Ta Deang

14/11/2019

There is a Thai song in which a male singer asks a female singer “what did you eat that makes you this beautiful?” The female singer then replied “I ate nam phrik, which is why I am beautiful - Charinya Ruecha of @charinyas_kitchen

Nam phrik (Thai: นํ้าพริก, pronounced [nám pʰrík]) is a spicy chili sauce/relish in Thai cuisine. For some households Nam phrik must be in almost every meal. Most of the time, nam phrik is eaten with a boiled vegetables selection, fried fish, plus a plate of rice. A Nam phrik dish is a low fat option and with the vegetables on the side this dish can be considered a healthy dish.

There is a Thai song in which a male singer asks a female singer “what did you eat that makes you this beautiful?” The female singer then replied “I ate nam phrik, which is why I am beautiful. My family is not wealthy and we eat Nam phrik every day.”

This shows that Nam phrik is easy to make and doesn’t cost much at all. Today I am going to share with you a nam phrik named “Nam phrik ta deang”, meaning “red eyes chilli relish”

Let’s get started.

Ingredients

20 g big dried chili, deseeded
5 g small dried chili, deseeded
80 g Garlic
100 g Shallots
50 g Dried fish or dried shrimp
1 tbsp. Shrimp paste, toasted
40 g Tamarind pulp
2 tbsp. Fish sauce, to taste
2 tbsp. Palm sugar, to taste
2 tbsp. Cooking oil

Method
1. Toast the dried fish until crispy then toast the dried chili, garlic, shallots and shrimp
paste.
2. Process the dried fish in a food processor until fine then add the rest of the ingredients
and process until a paste forms.
3. Fry the paste in the frying pan until it is combined well and fragrant.
4. Serve with fresh or steamed vegetables, a boiled egg and a plate of rice.