A smooth, bright, spicy Thai sauce built around the balance of sugar, acidity, the sea-salty depth of fish sauce, garlic, lemongrass, and coconut milk.
Ingredients
- 250 ml unsweetened coconut milk
- 60 ml rice vinegar
- 80 g palm sugar
- 45 ml Thai fish sauce
- 45 ml fresh lime juice
- 3 cloves fresh garlic cloves
- 4 pieces fresh Thai red chilies
- 1 piece fresh red bell pepper
- 1 piece fresh lemongrass stalk
- 15 g fresh ginger
- to taste fine salt
- 1 tsp tapioca starch
- 2 tbsp cold water
- 0.25 bunches fresh chives
Method
- Prepare the aromatics: peel the garlic and ginger, remove the seeds from the bell pepper, then finely chop the garlic, ginger, chilies, and bell pepper. Crush the lemongrass with the flat side of a knife to split it and release its fragrance, without cutting it into small pieces so it can be removed easily.
- Put the rice vinegar, palm sugar, fish sauce, garlic, ginger, chilies, bell pepper, and lemongrass in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat over medium heat until steadily simmering: the sugar should be completely dissolved and the liquid should smell of chili, warm garlic, and lemongrass all at once.
- Lower the heat and simmer uncovered. Stir often with a flexible spatula, especially around the edges of the saucepan. The base is ready when it becomes glossy and slightly syrupy, and the bell pepper pieces begin to soften without losing all their color.
- Remove the lemongrass. Add the coconut milk in a thin stream while stirring, then keep the saucepan over low heat. Do not bring it to a full boil: the sauce should only tremble gently, or the coconut milk may split and become grainy.
- Blend directly in the saucepan, or in a tall container, until smooth but still lively, with very fine red flecks of chili and bell pepper. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon rather than run like water.
- In a small bowl, mix the tapioca starch with the cold water until no lumps remain. Pour this mixture into the hot sauce while whisking immediately, then cook over low heat until the texture becomes satiny, creamy, and slightly elastic.
- Off the heat, add the lime juice. Taste only once the sauce has cooled slightly: it should be gentle and creamy at first, then salty and tangy, with a clear chili heat at the finish. Adjust with a small pinch of salt if the sauce tastes flat.
- Let it rest for a few minutes before serving. The texture will thicken slightly as it cools. Serve in a small bowl, spooned sparingly over a rice omelet, grilled chicken, stir-fried vegetables, or fritters, with the snipped chives added at the last moment.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 232.8 kcal
- Protein
- 2.94 g
- Carbohydrate
- 28.56 g
- Fat
- 11.68 g
- Fibre
- 1.75 g
- Calcium
- 92.07 mg
- Iron
- 0.13 mg
- Magnesium
- 5.27 mg
