The Thai Sauce You Need for Seafood (nam jim seafood)

If you spend enough time around Thai food in Thailand you may notice that Thai people love our sauces. Eating grilled meat? Here's some nam jim jaew. Fried foods? Here's nam jim gai (sweet chili sauce). Fried eggs? Gotta have some prik nam pla (aka the sauce that makes everything better). And of course when it comes to seafood, we have nam jim seafood. 

Nam jim seafood is made primarily from garlic, chilies, lime juice, fish sauce and cilantro. Its main flavour is sour and garlicky, which brightens and balances the sweetness of fresh seafood perfectly. 

It's a sauce that knows no borders, so you will find nam jim seafood served in all parts of Thailand, though naturally you'll see it more in regions along the coast simply because more seafood is consumed there.

It's so popular that you can even find prepared versions of it sold in bottles in the supermarket, though these are not as good and are only meant for people living in dorms and kitchen-less condos, because for most people with a kitchen, it is such a quick and easy sauce to make, and it uses very basic, staple ingredients. 

• Simply cooked seafood. If the seafood is simply grilled, fried or steamed, then the sauce is an absolute must. For example, grilled prawns, fried whole fish, steamed shellfish, or steamed crab.
• Dishes with large pieces of seafood. Even though it maybe a stir fry or another cooked dish where the seafood is already seasoned, but if the seafood itself is left in large pieces, some people still want to have nam jim seafood to season the seafood itself. A good example is ginger shrimp and glass noodles or black pepper prawns.
• Wraps and spring rolls. This is perhaps a very specific use, but we use a version of nam jim seafood for seafood-based wraps and rolls such as this mackerel lettuce wrap or miang pla too and fresh tuna spring rolls. I make the sauce a little bit more mellow with these dishes as I want to use a more generous amount.
• Non-seafood dishes can be served with nam jim seafood as well! Because it is tart and spicy, the sauce cuts fatty meats quite well and some people like to serve fatty meats such as crispy pork belly or even plainly cooked chicken. So don't feel like it needs to be used with only seafood, it really is a sauce that can enhance so many Thai dishes that can use an extra zing.

In cases where the seafood is fully integrated into a dish or are in small pieces, such as this curry crab stir fry, or small shrimp in fried rice or pad thai, then the sauce is not necessary.

Ingredients

This is a very simple recipe with few ingredients. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.

• Thai chilies, green chilis tend to be more popular because some people like to keep the colour green, but red chilies will also work. Green chilies have a slightly grassier flavour, and red chilies are fruitier. Other types of hot chili peppers will also work.
• Garlic.
• Cilantro stems, chopped. Traditionally this is made using cilantro roots with some of the stems attached, but since roots are hard to find, the stems will do just fine.
• Fish sauce. See my post here about how to choose good fish sauce
• Lime juice. Fresh lime juice is very important in this, so don't use bottled!
• Palm sugar. Palm sugar gives it an extra touch of complexity, but white sugar or light brown sugar will also work here. Read more about palm sugar here.

How to Make Thai Seafood Sauce 

Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.

Method 1: Mortar and Pestle, good for small amounts.

1. In a mortar and pestle, pound garlic and chilies to a fine paste. 
2. Add the palm sugar and pound until dissolved into a thick paste.
3. Add cilantro roots or stems and pound into a paste.
4. Add fish sauce and lime juice then swirl the pestle until the sugar has fully dissolved into the liquid.
5. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Feel free to add more sugar if it feels too tart, or add more cilantro stem/leaves if you want something more mellow.

Method 2: Blender, good for large amounts.

1. Place all ingredients into a blender (immersion blender works fine) and blend briefly on medium speed just until ingredients are no longer in big pieces, but you do not want it completely smooth. So don't use the high speed on the Vitamix! 
2. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Feel free to add more sugar if it feels too tart, or add more cilantro stem/leaves if you want something more mellow.

*A food processor may also work for large amounts for the blade to work properly. If using, process the garlic, chilies, cilantro roots and palm sugar into a paste, then add all the liquids and process briefly just to mix well.

Storage and Advance Prep

You can make nam jim seafood well in advance and keep it in the fridge. Refrigerated and tightly sealed, it will last in your fridge for at least a week, but the colour may start to look a little dodgy after a few days.