Isaan Dipping Sauce (Nam Jim Jaew)

A hot, sour and salty north-eastern dipping sauce with toasted rice and fresh herbs, made for grilled meats.

TIME BREAKDOWN
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 5 min
Total: 15 minutes
Vegetarian
❌
Nuts
❌
Serves
4 people
Difficulty
Very Easy

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp tamarind paste
  • 1 tbsp palm sugar or light brown soft sugar
  • 2 tbsp dried chilli flakes
  • 1 tbsp raw sticky rice or jasmine rice
  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh mint
  • 1 spring onion, finely sliced

Method

  1. Toast the raw rice in a dry frying pan over a medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, shaking often, until deep golden. Grind to a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar.

  2. Toast the chilli flakes in the same pan for 30 seconds until fragrant.

  3. Stir the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind paste and palm sugar together in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.

  4. Add the chilli flakes and ground rice, then fold in the shallots, coriander, mint and spring onion.

  5. Taste and adjust. Serve within a few hours with grilled pork, beef or chicken, or with sticky rice.