Nam Prik Pao (Chile And Garlic Paste) 4 tablespoon oil 3 tablespoon chopped garlic 3 tablespoon chopped shallots 3 tablespoon coarsely chopped dried red chilies 1 tablespoon fermented shrimp paste 1 tablespoon fish sauce 2 teaspoon sugar Heat the oil: add the garlic and shallots and fry briefly, remove from the oil and set aside. Add the chilies and fry until they start to change color, then remove them and set them aside. In a mortar and pestle pound the shrimp paste, add the chilies, garlic and shallots, blending each in before adding the next. Then over low heat return all the ingredients to the oil, and fold into a uniform. Paste. The resulting thick, slightly oily red/black sauce will keep almost indefinitely. If you wish you can add more fish sauce and/or sugar to get the flavor you want. The fresh chilies should be bruised in a mortar and pestle. The dried chilies should be heated first, then crumbled into the fresh chilies. Beat the lemon grass with the grinder of the mortar and pestle (it's called a 'sa' in Thai, I'm never sure whether it is the mortar or the pestle in English) or the back of a cleaver. Heat about 3 cups of water to boiling point, add all the ingredients, and stir constantly until cooked (it doesn't take long for mushrooms, longer for chicken or shrimp, and longest for beef). Variation : use three cups of thin coconut milk instead of water, the result is tom kha, rather than tom yum... Recipe By: Muoi Khuntilanont Yield: 1