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Nam Prik Nam Pla (Chile Fish Sauce)

By Matthew Fairman

Published on June 21, 2022

Time

10 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6 (Makes about ½ cup)

Nam Prik Nam Pla (Chile Fish Sauce)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons lime juice 1–4 Thai chiles, stemmed and sliced thin2 teaspoons sugar 1 garlic clove, minced

Before You Begin

The range for Thai chiles given here is an attempt to tailor this recipe to American tastes. Use one chile for an extra-mild version of this sauce; two chiles for medium-mild; three for medium; and four for medium‑spicy. It’s typical for recipes to call for more chiles for this amount of sauce, so if you know you like heat, add more to suit your taste. If you can’t find Thai chiles, you can substitute serrano chiles. Use one serrano for every two Thai chiles.

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in bowl and stir to dissolve sugar. Serve.
Nam Prik Nam Pla (Chile Fish Sauce)
Photography by Steve Klise. Styling by Elle Simone.

Nam Prik Nam Pla (Chile Fish Sauce)

Save

Time

10 minutes

Yield

Serves 4 to 6 (Makes about ½ cup)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lime juice
1–4 Thai chiles, stemmed and sliced thin
2 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, minced

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lime juice
1–4 Thai chiles, stemmed and sliced thin
2 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, minced

Ingredients

2 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons lime juice
1–4 Thai chiles, stemmed and sliced thin
2 teaspoons sugar
1 garlic clove, minced

Why This Recipe Works

Nam prik nam pla, a classic Thai condiment that’s ubiquitous at tables for spicing up your food, is a simple combination of Thai fish sauce, water, lime juice, sugar, garlic, and Thai chiles. This sweet-sour-salty sauce is usually quite spicy. To adjust our recipe to accommodate American palates, we decided to call for a range of chiles so that readers could adjust the spice level to their liking. 

Before You Begin

The range for Thai chiles given here is an attempt to tailor this recipe to American tastes. Use one chile for an extra-mild version of this sauce; two chiles for medium-mild; three for medium; and four for medium‑spicy. It’s typical for recipes to call for more chiles for this amount of sauce, so if you know you like heat, add more to suit your taste. If you can’t find Thai chiles, you can substitute serrano chiles. Use one serrano for every two Thai chiles.

Instructions

  1. Combine all ingredients in bowl and stir to dissolve sugar. Serve.

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