Crack Sauce (Prik Nam Pla)
Thai crack sauce or prik nam pla is an all-purpose sauce that tastes addictively delicious on practically everything! It's savory, tangy, sweet, spicy and packed with umami. Prik nam pla is super easy to throw together and perfect for anything from dipping spring rolls or adding to fried rice. For a more mellow version, try nuoc cham, Vietnamese dipping sauce, which is also very versatile.
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- No separate cook time
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 3 cloves garlic (cut into smaller chunks)
- ¼ piece shallot (peeled and cut into ¼ inch chucks)
- 1-3 bird's eye chili (cut into ¼ inch pieces (more or less to your spice preferences))
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons lime juice (about 1 lime per TBSP)
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cilantro (finely chopped (optional))
Instructions
- 1
Place the garlic, shallot, and chili peppers into a mortar and pestle and grind into a rough, chunky paste. Note: the finer the paste, the thicker the sauce will be.
- 2
To the paste, add fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Stir until the sugar has dissolved. Optionally, stir in the finely chopped cilantro.
- 3
Enjoy the sauce with with any protein, appetizers like spring rolls, or add to any dish that needs some extra love! If you have time, let the sauce sit for a couple of hours in the fridge to allow the flavors to marry. But freshly made sauce is perfectly fine for using as well. It'll just have a bit more punch.