Adventures in Thai Cooking & Travel
Roasted Chilli
Paste
Roasted Chilli Paste (Nahm Prik Pow)
by Kasma
Loha-unchit
Text Copyright © 1995 & 2000 Kasma
Loha-unchit.
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Recipe for Roasted Chilli Paste
See below for Recipes with Roasted Chilli Paste.
Roasted Chilli Paste (Nahm Prik Pow):
One 
of the most commonly used seafood-based chilli
pastes in Thai cooking is nahm prik pow, or literally "roasted chilli paste." It is
most frequently made with dried shrimp and gkabpi shrimp paste, but there are also
versions made with dried fish instead of shrimp.
In this paste, a ground-up mixture of roasted and fried ingredients, including plenty of dried red hot chillies, dried shrimp or dried fish, shrimp paste, garlic and shallots, is seasoned with fish sauce, tamarind and palm sugar and cooked together in oil into a thick, well-blended paste with a very dark, burnt red color. Against a fragrant backdrop of roasted flavors, the paste is hot and shrimpy, as well as sweet and tangy, complimenting seafood dishes especially well.
Nahm prik pow is used to flavor soups, including the popular hot-and-sour prawn soup; stir-fries with seafood, meats or vegetables; noodle dishes; dipping sauces and dressings for salads. Its sweetness also makes it a likable ready-to-use spread to put on toast, crackers or shrimp chips for a quick snack.
Two good brands of pre-packaged roasted chilli paste are available in Southeast Asian markets – Pantainorasingh (labeled as "chilli paste with soya bean oil) in 8 oz. and 16 oz. glass jars and Mae Ploy ("chilli in oil") in 14 oz. plastic tubs. The first comes in a choice of hot, medium and mild; skip over the mild as it lacks the fragrance of roasted chillies – the primary ingredient which gives the paste its name. [Note: The Pantainorosingh brand now contains MSG: Kasma is searching for a replacement product to recommend.] Since the combination of flavors and level of hotness and sweetness can vary considerably from brand to brand, make adjustments as necessary in cooking with recipes in this book to flavor dishes to your liking.
If imported roasted chilli paste is not readily available where you live, you can make your own supply with the recipe on page 175 of Dancing Shrimp. In fact, if all the roasting is done properly and only the freshest and best-quality ingredients are used, your home-made paste may turn out more fragrant and tasty than any of the store-bought brands. Whether home-made or store-bought, the paste keeps well for a few months when refrigerated in a sealed container.
Why not try making Roasted Chilli Paste from scratch?
Text Copyright © 2000 Kasma Loha-unchit in Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood. See pages 39 & 40.
This is just one of many listings in the "Alphabetical List of Ingredients" in chapter four (pages 49 to 73) of Dancing Shrimp: Favorite Thai Recipes for Seafood.
Ingredient index | Return to Top | Roasted Chilli Paste Recipe
Roasted Chilli Paste (Nahm Prik Pow)
I have
arbitrarily included a widely used chilli sauce in this section with other "salty" ingredients
because it supplies a large part of the salty flavor to the dishes in which it is used. It is
also a source of both hot and sweet flavors.
The main ingredient in this sauce is dried red chillies, which gives it its name (nahm= sauce, prik = chilli, pow = roasted). The chillies are roasted in soybean oil for a long period of time over low heat to a dark red color along with ground dried shrimp or fish, gkapi shrimp paste, garlic, shallots, tamarind, fish sauce and sugar. Some brands contain more chillies and are hotter than others. The most commonly available brand, Pantainorasingh, comes in choices of hot, medium and mild (indicated on the bottom left of the label) in two sizes, 8 oz. (227 gm) and 16 oz. (454 gm). [Note: The Pantainorasingh brand now contains MSG: Kasma is searching for a replacement product to recommend.] Because roasted chillies are the primary flavoring of this sauce, purchase at least a medium-hot jar; the mild version has a lot lacking. There are other brands that are quite good, though not as consistently available. Among them, Mae Anong in 17.5-oz. (500 gm) plastic pouches, Mae Ploy in 14-oz. (400 gm) plastic tubs and Mae Pranom in 8-oz. (227 gm) jars. If the Asian markets near you carry a choice of brands, sample a few to find the one you like best. Refrigerate after opening.
Nahm prik pow is used to flavor soups, stir-fries with vegetables, meats and seafood, noodle dishes and sauces for salads. Its sweetness makes it a likable ready-to-use sauce, which you may find tastes delicious as a spread on crackers or toast for a quick snack or on hors d'oeuvres for your party.
Why not try making Roasted Chilli Paste from scratch?
Text Copyright © 1995 Kasma Loha-unchit in It Rains Fishes: Legends, Traditions and the Joys of Thai Cooking. See pages 55 & 56.
Ingredient index | Return to Top | Roasted Chilli Paste recipe
Recipes with Roasted Chilli Paste:
Soups
Hot and Sour Prawn Soup (Dtom yum Gkoong)
Salads
Hot-and-Sour Shrimp Salad (Plah Gkung )
Seafood Dishes
Clams Stir-fried with Roasted Chilli Sauce & Basil (Hoi Pad Nahm Prik Pow )
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See our Online Markets page for online sources of Thai ingredients. If they do not have the product you wish, inquire by email if they will order it for you.
About this site
Text Copyright © Kasma Loha-unchit, 1995 in It Rains Fishes, and 2000 in Dancing Shrimp. All rights reserved.
All material on this website is Copyright © 1995 to 2008 Kasma Loha-unchit. All rights reserved.
For comments, feedback or questions, contact Kasma.
Page added 20 March 2002. Last updated 18 June 2007.