Nam prik pao

Nam prik pao (pâte de piment grillé)

What it is

Pao means roasted, not burnt: the chillies, shallots and garlic are dry-roasted or fried until dark before pounding, and that char is the flavour rather than the heat. Tamarind and palm sugar go in with the oil, which is why the jar separates on the shelf — and why the red slick floating on a bowl of tom yum comes from the spoonful stirred in, not from the chillies in the soup.

In the kitchen

Stir in the oil as well as the paste — most of the aroma sits in the oil, and a jar decanted with the oil left behind is worth half. A tablespoon finishes a tom yum for four, added at the end, since long boiling makes it bitter.

Goes with

Shrimp Lemongrass Lime Fish sauce Tamarind paste Palm sugar

Same species

Ají amarillo Ají panca Ajvar Aleppo pepper Ancho chilli Bell pepper

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