Prik Nam Pla

Prik nam pla is the condiment you will see on every Thai table, from street stalls to family kitchens: a small bowl of fish sauce with sliced bird’s eye chillies, often with garlic and lime. It is how Thai diners season their own plate, a few drops at a time.

How to make it

Slice 5–10 bird’s eye chillies thinly, keeping the seeds. Slice 1–2 cloves of garlic thinly too. Put them in a small bowl, add 4 tbsp fish sauce and the juice of half a lime. Leave it for 10 minutes so the chillies infuse the sauce. Some cooks add thinly sliced shallot as well.

How it is used

A spoonful goes over rice dishes like pad kra pao, khao pad (fried rice) and kai jiao (Thai omelette), and into noodle soups. It adds a final lift of salt and heat at the table, so each person can season their food to taste.

Its close relatives are the four condiments on every noodle stall (kruang prung): fish sauce, dried chilli flakes, sugar and vinegar with sliced chillies (prik nam som). Thai diners adjust their noodle soup with all four.

Storing

It keeps for 3–4 days in the fridge without lime, and gets hotter the longer it sits. Add the lime juice fresh each time if you want to keep it longer.

Cook’s tip

Eat the chilli slices too, or not: many Thais only spoon up the sauce, which carries the heat without the bite of the chilli itself.