Laotian cuisine has a lot of sauces, but my favorite sauce is Jeow Som which is a spicy dipping sauce. Translated, “jeow” means sauce and “som” means sour. Not only is it delicious, but it’s super easy to make and you can keep it in the fridge.
This sauce is a perfect condiment for BBQ meats and for eating with stir fries, but it’s also a delicious dipping sauce for seafood. In fact, this is the sauce that Laotian people sneak into all you can eat buffets! Now before you go making it and taking it to the all you can eat seafood buffets, I should you warn you that when you open the container the smell of fish sauce will be super strong. Also, double ziplock the container if you plan on transporting it in your purse.
To make this you will need a mortar and pestle. But if you don’t have one, a food processor is just fine. Pound the garlic and chilies. Add the sugar, lime juice, salt and fish sauce.
Taste to make sure you like the flavor. If you like it a little more sour, add more lime juice. Garnish with chopped cilantro and that’s all there is to it!
Lao Spicy Dipping Sauce. This sauce has all the flavors. It is spicy, sweet, sour and salty! Great for dipping with seafood and as a condiment to stir fry dishes.
- 2 Cloves garlic
- 8 Chilies
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 T Fish Sauce
- 2 T Sugar
- 4 T Lime Juice
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Pound the garlic, chilies and salt.
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Add the sugar, fish sauce and lime juice. Use the pestle to mix the sauce.
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Garnish with chopped cilantro
The amount of chilies can be adjusted per your spice level.