Simple Nam Prik Pao Fried Rice

I have a fabulous post to share with you about the meal I made for Christmas Day–but it will take a moment to organize, especially in the recipe department.  I wanted to get something out in the meantime, and this simple, short post about nam prik pao, or Thai chili jam fits the bill perfectly.

Nam prik pao is a really tasty Thai condiment.  It is made sweet by caramelized shallots and some sugar, salty and savory from shrimp paste, and spicy–to varying degrees–from chile peppers.  In Thailand, I think they use it on just about anything; in my limited experience I have used it in soups and on rice.  She Simmers has a great post on how to make it if you are so inclined, but here is the thing about nam prik pao: it is kind of a pain in the butt to make, especially when you remember it is a condiment so you are already cooking something else for dinner.

So I have spent the last 10 years avoiding it.  I just felt like I had to make it–every Thai cookbook that referred to it also gave a recipe.  And cooking from a culture that you are not from leads, at least for me, to an almost obnoxious purism.  After all, I am not Thai, I don’t always have a way of knowing when something commercial is an acceptable substitute.  And because I love and am respectful of the cuisines I am interested in, I am always interested in trying to make things as authentically as possible, at least the first time.

But just in case you want a recipe…

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Simple Nam Prik Pao Fried Rice

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: rice

Author: TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• leftover cold rice, 2-4 cups will be enough for 2 people
• 2-3 T vegetable oil
• 1 T fish sauce, to taste
• 2 T nam prik pao, to taste
• 2-4 fried eggs, depending on how much you like fried eggs!
• lime wedges, optional

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until golden. Add the rice and fry for about 2 minutes, stirring. Add the fish sauce and nam prik pao, starting with lesser amounts. Stir, working the sauces into the rice. Taste for adjustments.
2. Dump the rice into a serving dish and then add a little more oil to the pan. Quickly fry the eggs, preferably with a runny yolk so that its golden goodness can mingle with the nam prik pao. Serve on top of the rice with lime wedges if desired.
3. *If you want a more complete, less "on the go" meal, add more veggies before adding the rice.