Nam Prik Pao

Ingredients for 1 servings:

• 50 g chilli pepper(s) (Prik Chee Fah Heng), dried
• 70 g garlic, peeled, thinly sliced
• 100 g shallot(s), peeled, thinly sliced
• 200 ml oil
• 60 g palm sugar, grated
• ½ tbsp shrimp paste (gapi)
• 150 ml juice (tamarind juice from tamarind pulp)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 50 ml water

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Total time approx. 20 minutes

Thai roasted chili paste

Heat the wok and roast the chilies over medium heat without any fat. Stir vigorously until they begin to smoke and burn in places. Be careful, they will blacken easily! It’s best to roast them in small batches so they’re easier to turn. The smoke can trigger a violent cough (or a terror alert, like in London in early October 2007), so open the window. Heat the oil in the wok, fry the garlic slices until golden brown. Drain (hang a sieve over a bowl, place a sheet of kitchen paper in the sieve) and set aside. Return the oil to the wok, heat back up, and roast the shallots until golden brown. Then drain in the same way. Now slice the roasted chilies lengthwise and remove the seeds and stems. Crumble them and then grind them into a fine powder (I use a coffee grinder for this). Chop the drained and cooled onion and garlic slices in a blender. Place all ingredients next to the wok and prepare the Nam Prik Pao. Heat the remaining oil in the wok. Form the shrimp paste into a ball, then flatten it and fry in the hot oil until fragrant. Add 4 tablespoons of the chili powder and stir well. Add the garlic and onion. Carefully add the fish sauce. Add 3/4 of the tamarind juice and sugar and mix well. Add the water and stir well. Season to taste and add more chili powder, sugar, and/or tamarind juice if desired. The result: about 1/2 liter of wonderful paste.