A traditional Isan Thai sauce that is bright, salty, sour, and spicy, thickened with toasted glutinous rice powder and served with grilled meats, sticky rice, or crisp vegetables.
Ingredients
- 45 ml good-quality Thai fish sauce
- 60 ml fresh lime juice
- 30 g Thai tamarind paste
- 18 g Thai palm sugar
- 2 tbsp toasted glutinous rice powder
- 2 tsp dried Thai chili flakes
- 40 g fresh Asian shallots
- 2 sprigs fresh scallion
- 4 sprigs fresh cilantro
Method
- Prepare the toasted glutinous rice powder if it is not ready already: see the prepared component. It must be cool before it goes into the sauce, or it will absorb the liquids too quickly and thicken unevenly.
- Finely slice the shallots. Cut the scallion into thin rounds and finely chop the cilantro. The pieces should remain visible but be small enough to distribute through every spoonful.
- In a bowl, combine the fish sauce, lime juice, tamarind paste, and palm sugar. Stir until the sugar has completely dissolved; the sauce should be glossy, fluid, intensely fragrant, and distinctly salty-sour.
- Add the dried Thai chili flakes. Stir, then let stand for a few moments so the chili rehydrates slightly and colors the sauce amber-red.
- Stir in the shallots, scallion, and cilantro. Mix gently so you do not crush the herbs; the sauce should remain fresh, lively, and aromatic.
- Add the toasted glutinous rice powder last. Stir just enough to hydrate it: the texture should become slightly grainy and spoon-coating, with a clear toasted aroma, without turning into a compact paste.
- Taste and adjust in the traditional spirit: add more lime if the sauce seems heavy, a little fish sauce if it needs salt, or a touch of palm sugar if the acidity is too dominant. Serve at room temperature, ideally with grilled meat, sticky rice, or raw vegetables.
Nutrition
Per serving
- Energy
- 85.6 kcal
- Protein
- 2.1 g
- Carbohydrate
- 17.26 g
- Fat
- 0.64 g
- Fibre
- 1.36 g
- Calcium
- 5.32 mg
- Iron
- 0.07 mg
- Magnesium
- 2.71 mg
