The recipe for this sweet-and-sour dip comes from Ton Kham, a restaurant outside of Chiang Mai, and is adapted from Austin Bush’s The Food of Northern Thailand. The blend of toasted dried chiles, ground pork, and tart tomatoes is rich, spicy, pleasantly oily—and utterly irresistible.
Pla raa, an infamously pungent, unfiltered fish sauce and the source of this dish’s deep umami flavor, is rendered mellow and fragrant through slow simmering—a technique known as ong.
What You Will Need
- Skillet
- Large Granite Mortar and Pestle
- Large Wok
- Small Bowl
Serve 4 1 Hour, 10 Minutes
Ingredients
- 1 fermented soybean disk (½ oz. or 15 g) or 1 Tbsp. Thai fermented soybean paste, drained and rinsed
- 12 dried puya chiles (⅔ oz.), stems removed
- 8 medium garlic cloves (2½ oz.)
- 3 Tbsp. unfiltered fish sauce
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 25 cherry tomatoes, halved (1 cup)
- 1 medium ripe tomato, sliced (4½ oz.)
- 6 oz. ground pork
- 1⁄2 tsp. MSG (optional)
- Kosher salt
- 1 medium scallion, dark green and pale green parts only, thinly sliced
- 1 Tbsp. cilantro leaves, minced
- Assorted vegetables, such as fresh Thai eggplant and herbs, or steamed pumpkin, cabbage, and long beans, for serving
- Deep-fried pork rinds, for serving
- Steamed Thai sticky rice, for serving
Instructions
- In a dry skillet over medium-high heat, toast the soybean disk until fragrant, golden, and speckled, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large granite mortar and pestle, and when cool enough to handle, pound and grind to a powder. Transfer the powder to a small bowl and set aside.
- Working in a well-ventilated area, toast the chiles: in a large wok set over medium-low heat, add the chiles and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, swollen, and darker in color, about 10 minutes. (Use a damp paper towel to remove any seeds that fall out of the chiles as you go to minimize burning and smoking.) Transfer the chiles to the mortar and pestle, and pound and grind to a coarse powder. Add half of the garlic, and pound and grind to a coarse paste. Add the fish sauce, and continue pounding and grinding to a fine paste. Transfer the paste to a small bowl and set aside. Wipe out the mortar and pestle with paper towels, then add the remaining garlic. Pound and grind to a coarse paste.
- In a large wok set over medium heat, add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom and sides. Add the garlic paste and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and just beginning to color, about 1 minute. Add the chile-garlic paste, cherry tomatoes, sliced tomato, and pork, and cook, stirring and crushing the tomatoes, until the mixture is well combined, the pork is cooked through, and the tomatoes are soft and slightly cooked down, about 10 minutes. Add 1 cup cold water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a strong simmer. Cook until reduced slightly, 10–12 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons of the soybean powder (reserve remaining powder for another use) and the MSG (if using); continue cooking until most of the water has evaporated and the mixture is thick, about 8–9 minutes more. Season with salt to taste. Transfer to a serving bowl and let cool to room temperature, then sprinkle with scallion and cilantro. Serve with assorted fresh or steamed vegetables, pork rinds, and rice for dipping.
Let’s try it!
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