Nam Jim Jaew — Smoky Isan Dipping Sauce

RECIPES, Sauces

Nam Jim Jaew — Smoky Isan Dipping Sauce
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Nam Jim Jaew — Smoky Isan Dipping Sauce

Course: Sides
Servings

4

servings
Cooking time

10

minutes
Total time

15

minutes

Nam jim jaew is the dipping sauce that belongs alongside gai yang — dark, smoky, sour, and gently spicy, with the distinctive nuttiness of toasted rice powder that is the hallmark of Isan cooking. It is one of those sauces that seems almost too simple to be as good as it is. A handful of ingredients, minimal cooking, and the result is something that elevates grilled meat in a way that no commercial sauce ever could. Once you have made it, you will want to put it on everything.

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons ONOFF Spices No Fish Vegan Seasoning Sauce (or fish sauce)

  • 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

  • 1 teaspoon palm sugar (or coconut sugar as a substitute)

  • 2 teaspoons dried chilli flakes

  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced

  • 1 tablespoon toasted rice powder (see note)

  • 1 tablespoon fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

  • 1 spring onion, finely sliced

Directions

  • Combine the No Fish Vegan Seasoning Sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar has fully dissolved.
  • Add the dried chilli flakes and shallots and stir to combine.
  • Stir in the toasted rice powder — this is what gives the sauce its body, its nuttiness, and its distinctly Isan character.
  • Finish with the fresh coriander and spring onion.
  • Taste and adjust — it should be sour first, salty second, with a background warmth from the chilli. Add more lime if it needs lifting, more seasoning sauce if it needs depth.
  • Serve alongside gai yang grilled chicken, or any grilled meat or fish.

Notes

  • Toasted rice powder is simple to make and worth the small effort. Place two tablespoons of raw glutinous sticky rice — or regular jasmine rice — in a dry pan over medium heat and toast, stirring constantly, until the grains turn a deep golden brown and smell nutty and fragrant. This takes around 5–7 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind to a coarse powder. It keeps in an airtight container for several weeks and is one of the most useful things to have in a Thai kitchen — used in laab, namtok, and jaew alike.