Nam Prik Pao

Ingredients

• 40 g large mild dried red chillies (about 12), such as guajillo or dried phrik chee fa
• 200 g Asian red shallots, peeled and halved
• 100 g garlic cloves, peeled (about 2 heads)
• 20 g dried shrimp
• 1 tsp Thai shrimp paste (kapi)
• 80 g palm sugar, shaved from the block
• 3 tbsp tamarind concentrate
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 120 ml neutral oil, such as rice bran or sunflower
• 1/2 tsp fine sea salt

Before you cook

• Snip the stems off the dried chillies with kitchen scissors.
• Slit each chilli open along its length and shake out the seeds.
• Cut the chillies into 2 cm pieces with the scissors.
• Rinse the dried shrimp in a sieve under cold water and pat them dry on kitchen paper.
• Shave the palm sugar off the block with a sharp knife so it melts quickly.

Steps

1. Set a dry wok over medium heat and add the chilli pieces.
2. Toss the chillies constantly for 3 to 4 minutes until they darken at the edges and smell smoky, then tip them onto a plate.
3. Add the shallots and garlic to the same dry wok.
4. Turn them for 8 to 10 minutes over medium heat until blackened in patches and soft in the centre.
5. Scrape the shallots and garlic onto the plate with the chillies and leave everything to cool for 10 minutes.
6. Grind the toasted chillies to a coarse powder in a spice grinder.
7. Grind the dried shrimp separately until fine and fluffy.
8. Tip the chilli powder, ground shrimp, charred shallots, garlic, shrimp paste, palm sugar, tamarind, fish sauce and salt into a food processor.
9. Blitz for 2 minutes to a thick, coarse paste, scraping down the sides once.
10. Heat the oil in the wok over medium-low heat until it shimmers.
11. Add the paste and stir it through the oil.
12. Cook for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring almost constantly, until the paste darkens to deep mahogany and the oil separates and floats on top.
13. Taste and balance it with a little more palm sugar for sweetness or tamarind for sourness.
14. Spoon the hot jam into a sterilised jar and press it level so the oil seals the surface.
15. Cool completely, then seal and refrigerate for up to 6 months.