How it works
What to eat with nam prik? Raw and steamed vegetables, fried fish and rice. These 37 ideas set the Thai table around the chili dip, with eggs and meat, noodles and toast, dishes cooked with the paste and three drinks.
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How nam prik is served in Thailand
Nam prik, also spelled nam phrik, is a Thai chili sauce, traditionally pounded in a mortar. It comes in a small saucer beside the main dish, as a dip for plain food: raw or boiled greens, fish, poultry and meat. A Thai meal is rice with shared dishes, and a dip for vegetables is called its most crucial part.
Build the plate around the dip
Start with rice and a platter of vegetables, some raw and some steamed, then add one fried or grilled thing. Two dips have partners of their own: the sweet nam prik long ruea is served with salted duck egg, sweet pork and fresh greens, and the northern galangal dip (nam prik kha) with steamed mushrooms or steamed sliced beef shank.
- Put out far more vegetables than dip, since only a little goes on each bite.
- For a milder table, set boiled eggs or a plain omelette beside the dip to soften each bite.
Questions and answers
What vegetables go with nam prik?
Raw: cucumber, yardlong beans, round Thai eggplants, winged beans and cabbage. Steamed or blanched: okra, cabbage, banana flower and sesbania flowers. Green beans, broccoli and carrots do the job where the Thai ones are not sold.
What do you eat with nam prik kapi?
Fried short mackerel (pla thu), with raw, steamed or fried vegetables, often pieces of acacia leaf omelette, and steamed rice or fresh rice noodles. The fish and the dip are served together as one dish.
What do you eat with nam prik num?
Steamed and raw vegetables, crispy pork rinds (khaep mu) and sticky rice. It is a thick northern dip of roasted green chilies, and the pork rinds double as the scoop.
What do you eat nam prik pao with?
Nam prik pao is a sweetened roasted chili jam, popular as a spread on bread or toast. It is also an ingredient: stirred into tom yam soup, stir-fried with squid, or whisked into the dressing of a spicy shrimp salad.
Do you eat nam prik with rice?
Yes. Steamed rice goes with shrimp paste dip, the kind typical of central Thailand. In the north and northeast, sticky rice is rolled into a small ball by hand and dipped.