Thailand Menu

Condiment for Rice

This condiment is universally Southeast Asian. It should be served with Burmese Curry and is good with plain steamed rice. This condiment is often made with dried catfish and without tomato in Thailand. You can buy it in small jars labeled as chili paste in Thai grocery stores. This recipe is for a small batch, you may wish to double it.

You can get tamarind concentrate at Indian and Pakistani grocery stores. If you can’t get it, you can use 1 Tablespoon moistened and seeded tamarind pulp instead. Dried shrimp powder can be found at Asian and Mexican grocery stores.

1. 1 large Roma Tomato
2. 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
3. ¼ cup Dried Onion Flakes
4. 2 teaspoons Dried Garlic Flakes
5. 1½ teaspoons Thai Shrimp Paste
6. ½ teaspoon Turmeric
7. ½ cup Dried Shrimp Powder
8. 1 Green Chili, chopped
9. ½ teaspoon Tamarind Concentrate, dissolved in 1 Tablespoon Water

The tomatoes should be peeled and this is actually quite easy. Boil enough water to cover the tomatoes and remove from heat. Add the tomatoes to the freshly boiled water and leave to sit for 1 minute. Remove the tomatoes from the hot water and plunge into cold water. Let tomatoes sit in the cold water for 1 minute. If the tomatoes have not been gentically modified, they will now be easy to peel with your fingers. After the tomato is peeled, chop it up.

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok and fry the dried onion and dried garlic until they are a deep golden color. (A wok is best because its round bottom allows a small amount of oil to make a deeper pool than in a flat bottomed pan.) Stir in the turmeric and shrimp paste and stir until the ingredients are well blended. Add the rest of the ingredients and fry, stirring frequently, until all the moisture has evaporated and the oil separates from the solids. Store in a tightly sealed jar so it doesn’t absorb moisture from the air.

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