Poslfit Recipes: Nam Jim Seafood Sauce

4 bird's eye chili peppers

5 garlic cloves

one cilantro plant, from leaves to root

3/4 t icing sugar

3 limes' worth of juice

1 t fish sauce

I made the mistake in 2014 of serving seafood to Thai houseguests without this standard sauce, and have practiced making it every week since then in anticipation of their return. There is no standard recipe, as everyone has their family version of this sauce, but this is how we like it.

Chop into small pieces the chili peppers, garlic cloves, and cilantro, and put into a small mortar (I use one with a 12 cm diameter).

Pound the ingredients in the mortar until they are thoroughly bruised and they are about half liquid.

Add the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce. Stir and serve over any type of seafood (we typically have grilled salmon or shrimp).