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Nam jim seafood (green chilli-lime dipping sauce)
Nam jim seafood (น้ำจิ้มซีฟู้ด): garlic, green chilli and lime sauce for grilled prawns and squid
Seafood grills along the beach at Bang Saen and Hua Hin set a little bowl of this bright green sauce by every plate of grilled prawns, squid and crab. It is pounded, not blended, from garlic, green bird's-eye chillies and coriander root, then loosened with lime and fish sauce until it is sharp, salty, hot and barely sweet. Make it no more than a few hours ahead. For a vegetarian version to eat with grilled vegetables and tofu, use 2½ tbsp light soy sauce instead of the fish sauce. Chef's tip: don't use bottled lime juice; its flat, bitter edge takes over a sauce this simple.
- Total time
- 10 min
- Difficulty
- easy
- Serves
- 6
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlicpeeled
- 8 green bird's-eye chilliesstalks removed
- 1 long green chillideseeded and chopped
- 3 coriander rootsscraped and chopped, or a small bunch of stems
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 ½ tbsp sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- ¼ cup lime juicefreshly squeezed, from about 4 limes
- 2 tbsp coriander leaveschopped
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Method
0/4 doneStep 1: Pound 6 cloves garlic, 8 green bird's-eye chillies, 1 long green chilli, 3 coriander roots and 1 pinch salt in a mortar to a rough, bright green paste, 2–3 minutes.
3 minStep 2: Add 1 ½ tbsp sugar and pound briefly until it dissolves into the paste.
Step 3: Stir in 3 tbsp fish sauce and ¼ cup lime juice. Taste: sour and salty should lead, with heat right behind and only a hint of sweetness. Add more lime or sugar a little at a time.
Step 4: Stir in 2 tbsp coriander leaves and serve within 3 hours with grilled prawns, squid, crab or fish.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 20 kcal
- Protein
- 1 g
- Carbs
- 4 g
- Fat
- 0 g
- Fibre
- 0 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does nam jim seafood (green chilli-lime dipping sauce) take?
- About 10 minutes in total.
- How many people does it serve?
- 6 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- Is it very spicy?
- It has some heat. Use less chilli for a milder version, or more if you like it hot.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
- What can I use instead of long green chilli?
- A pinch of chilli flakes per chilli.
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