Nam Jim Polamai - Fruit Dip
THE DRESSING:
2 tb minced garlic
2 tb kapi (shrimp paste)
2 tb lime juice
2 tb [palm] sugar
2 tb fish sauce
Lightly fry the shrimp paste to bring out the aromas, and discard any oil that is forced out
by the heat. Mix the ingredients with half the fish sauce in a food processor and taste add more
fish sauce until it is just salty enough for you.
Variation: add [up to] 6 finely sliced red chilies. Once you have your dressings, you are
ready to make one of a number of Thai dips.
1. Nam Jim Mamuang: prepare one cup of shredded green (i.e. unripe) mango, and combine it with
the dressing. Variation instead of shredding the mango just julienne it. If you use the chile
variation of the dressing the result is a Som Dam Mamuang (an Isan variant - the normal som dam is
made with papaya).
2. Use a cup of coarsely chopped pineapple (nam jim sapparot).
3. Try a cup of any chopped fruit.
4. A variation my wife calls Nam Jim Luk Koei (kai luk koei is "son in law eggs" and is done
with fried hard boiled [quails] eggs in a caramelized onion sauce). Take a cup of mixed "round
things" -maraschino cherries, cherry tomatoes, cocktail olives, hard boiled quails eggs. Mix with
the dressing[s] and serve on cocktail sticks. A variation my wife calls "devil's finger food": Take
about 2 tbsp. of shrimp paste, and fry it. Mix in about 1 tbsp. of sliced red chilies. Use this
mixture to stuff pitted olives (instead of the usual bland pimento) and serve it with a hot version
of the chile dressing from above. Caveat: Even I find this a little hot. Recipe By: Muoi Khuntilanont
Yield: 1
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