Nam prig pow recipe. Thai red chilli paste

Nam pla prig, is one of those condiments that you just can't get enough of!! It is also an essential ingredient To many Thai dishes like Tom yum goong.  I always crave fried rice with nam pla prik, because it is such an easy dish to make. You can make it as simple or as complex as you like. You could add your choice of seafood or meat, or any vegetables that you might have at hand. It is also very very nice with fried noodles of you choice. It is nice as a condiment, I also like to use the bright red oil for drizzling over meals for decoration. The list just goes on! Just use your imagination and go wild with the possibility 's.

You can also play around with the flavours, until you get the flavour or spiciness to you liking. But remember, hot, salty, sweet and sour and you can't go far wrong.

Ingredients

1/4 cup of small dried shrimp, lightly fried for a few minutes, or until crispy.
About 1 1/2 bulbs of peeled and sliced garlic,
5-8 dried red chillies lightly fried for a few minutes until well toasted.
1 1/2 tbs jaggery or palm sugar
4-5 shallots or enough to be roughly 1/2 cup
1 tsp shrimp paste
2 tsp tamarind paste soaked in 1/2 cup of water
1/2 cup of sunflower oil
1 tsp salt

Directions

1. Measure out and prep all of the ingredients so the you can be efficient. Heat the oil on a low heat.
2. Fry the shimo until crispy and set aside.
3. To the same oil, add the dried red chillies. It should be a matter of seconds before they darken. Drain and set aside.
4. Then add the sliced garlic and fry until golden. Set aside.
5. Fry the shallots and fry for about five minutes or until they have no water in and are brownish golden. Set aside.
6. Now the traditional way to processed, would be to grind everything in a pestle and mortar. But to save time, I like to grind everything up in an electic blender or coffee grinder and the empty the paste into a pestle and mortar and add the salt, Palm sugar and the shrimp paste. Pound everything well until it is a paste.
7. Return the paste back to the oil and mix the tamarind paste in. Let everything bubble on a slow and low heat. Keep stiring and checking the consistency. It should have a beautiful flow of the spoon like lava. If it doesn't. Then just add more water. Simmer for 3-5 minutes or until done.  
 Transfer into suitable container. This paste should be good for a month and you can also freeze this paste.

Fantastic with fried rice. Nam prig pow fried rice recipe here

Enjoy and let me know what you think. 😍

Thai Nam prig pow and vegetable fried rice recipe

I actually can't believe that this is my first Thai recipe on this blog, when it is one my all time favourite cuisines! My husband and I have been to Thailand many times and we have completely fallen in love with the country, cuisine, culture and most of all, the people!

I actually think that this is a very suitable dish to have as my first Thai recipe on blog, simply because It was one of the first dishes that I had on my very first visit to the land of the golden smiles.

What I love about this dish is that this recipe calls for left over rice. So what I always do, is cook double the amount of rice the day before. It then makes for a really good lunch time, or evening meal.
You don't even have to add the veggies if you don't want to, or you have little time to spare.

One thing I would recommend you try although it is definitely not essential, is to make your own nam prig pow paste. The one that you buy from the shop is truly delicious, it is just good to be able to make it according to your own tastes and also you know that there isn't any rubbish going into it. It isn't hard to do, just make sure to do it in advance. I will post my recipe next. Oh I'm sorry, im forgetting to say what nam prig pow is!!!! It is a massively amazing versatile Thai  paste, containing caramelised shallots, garlic, chillies and other ingredients. I don't live very close to an Asian supermarket, so I like to make my own. It will last for about 3 months in an airtight container in the fridge.

Here is the link for the paste recipe below. 😄

Nam prig pow chilli paste recipe

Here is the recipe for nam prig pow fried rice!

2-3 cups of left over rice. Jasmine or basmati is preferable.
1/2 a large white onion,
3 spring onions,
1 carrot
3 or 4 large leaves of Napa cabbage or Chinese leaf
1/2 cup cooked green peas
1/2 large red pepper,
1 large red chilli
3 cloves garlic
Bamboo shoots and water chestnuts just to taste
1 tbs fish sauce,
3 tsp nam prig pow chilli paste.
Lime wedge for seasoning to taste
2-3 eggs. One for frying and popping on the top.

Directions
Prepare everything befor cooking.

1. Julienne the all of the washed vegetables to a uniform size. Just roughly chop the garlic.

2. Heat a tbs of oil into a wok and wait until it reaches smoking point.
3. Add the onions and fry for about a minute before adding the chilli and the garlic.

4. Add the carrots and fry for about a minute, then quickly add the peppers, spring onions, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts.add the Chinese leaf at the end and only stir fry for a minute or so.Stir fry until done. Set aside.

5.to the same wok as you were just using, add another 1/2 tbs oil and wait until it reaches smoking point.
6. Add the left over rice and stir fry for a minute or so, but make sure that you break up all of the lumps.
7. Push the rice to one side and break an egg into the pan. Scramble the egg until it is in fairly small pieces.

8. Mix the rice and the egg together and then add the fish sauce and the nam prig pow. Mix everything together really well.

9. Add the vegetables and stir fry everything together for a few minutes. Taste for balance of flavours

10. Heat up another frying pan for the egg. Quickly fry the egg, ensuring that you leave the yolk runny.
 11. Serve the hot rice into bowls or plates and serve the fried egg on top with the wedge of lime.

ENJOY!!!!!

Vaghereli rotli (left over chapati in yoghurt gravy)

This is one of warming, comforting dishes that is very easy, healthy and quick to make. Extremely satisfying dish. This dish is always the sort of thing that i crave every once in a while and also when I am on my own and wanting to get snuggled up on the sofa, all safe and cosy. :D

When I make chapatis, sometime I make a few too many and then freeze the leftovers for this dish
alone because i love it so so much and cuts down a. lot of cooking time drastically.

It is cooked in a  sour yoghurt gravy, so it is a good source of calcium too! And great for using yoghurt that is close to its sell by date. You would never believe how tasty this dish is. I just think its amazing when you think that it is all made with leftovers! Simply delicious!!!

Ingredients:-

8 or so left over chapatis,
1 cup of sour yoghurt,
2 1/2 - 3 cups of water,
1 1/2 tbs oil,
1/2 tsp mustard seeds,
a pinch of hing or asafoetida powder,
1/4 tsp methi or fenugreek seeds,
1/2 tsp cumin seeds,
1 tsp each garlic and ginger pastes,
a few curry leaves
1/2 tsp dhana- jeera powder or coriander-cumin powder
1 tsp of sugar or to taste,
salt to taste,
fresh coriander to garnish.

Directions:-

1. Tear the chapatis and keep to one side.
2. Heat up the oil on a medium heat and once it is hot enough, add the mustard seeds.
3. When they pop add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, and fry for a few seconds before adding the garlic and the ginger pastes and the turmeric. Fry on a low heat for a few minutes until the turn translucent and the raw smell goes.
4. Add some salt to taste, sugar and the water, bring back to the boil and simmer for about 1 or 2 minutes.
5. Add the yoghurt and the torn up chapattis, test for seasoning, if its ok then sprinkle with coriander and serve steaming hot! Enjoy and feel free to comment and let me know what you think! :D :D