Chilli Dipping Sauce with Crispy Dried Shrimp

Chilli dipping sauce with dried shrimp

Nam Prik Gung Seab


Serves 4 Cooks in 10 minutes Difficulty EASY


Nam prik is a spicy chilli sauce normally eaten with an assortment of Thai vegetables, fried fish and even a cha-om omelette.

There are many, many different types of nam prik such as nam prik kaphi (chilli dipping sauce with fermented shrimp paste), nam prik pla too (chilli dipping sauce with mackerel) and nam prik bplah raa (chili sauce with fermented fish sauce).

Here I have chosen nam prik gung seab which means chilli dipping sauce with dried shrimp. The dried shrimp adds a nice crispy texture to the sauce.

Nam prik is very popular here in Thailand. It’s quick and very cheap to make and you can serve it with just about anything that’s good for dipping. It’s a great way to use up those last few vegetables that have been rolling around in the bottom of your fridge.

My favourites to serve with nam prik are cucumber, cabbage, long Thai aubergine and omelette fried with cha-om leaves. Sometimes I just eat nam prik with rice if I need an instant hunger fix.

Ingredients

  • 15 chilli
  • 7 cloves garlic
  • 7 shallots
  • 2 limes
  • 1 1/2 tbsp shrimp paste
  • 2 tsp palm sugar
  • 2 tbsp dried shrimp (larger the better)
Chilli dipping sauce with dried shrimp ingredients
What you will need.

Method

  1. Heat some oil in a wok and deep fry the dried shrimp until crispy. Drain and set to one side.
  2. Wrap the shrimp paste around a fork and grill on an open flame for around a minute until the paste starts to cook a little.
  3. Smash the chilli, garlic and shallots in a pestle and mortar until it is a coarse paste.
  4. Add the sugar and shrimp paste and smash and mix well.
  5. Add the juice of two limes and mix well.
Smashing the nam prik ingredients

To Serve

Put the shrimp mixture in a small bowl and top with the dried, crispy shrimp. Serve in the middle of a large plate with your choice of vegetables for dipping surrounding the small bowl.

Hope you enjoy my Nam Prik Gung Seab by Apple 🍎 Riverside Thai Cooking in Khao Lak.