Nam jim, nam prik, jeaw — the sauces that make Thai food what it is, explained one by one.
The classic dipping sauce for grilled fish and seafood — fish sauce, lime, palm sugar, garlic, and bird's eye chilli; bright green with chilli; essential.
Dark, sweet, smoky paste of dried roasted chillies — used as a stir-fry base, spread on toast, stirred into soups; the backbone of many dishes.
The Isaan dipping sauce for grilled meats — fish sauce, lime, toasted rice powder, dried chilli, shallot, mint; slightly smoky and intensely flavoured.
The simplest condiment — bird's eye chilli in fish sauce; on every table; a few drops of this transforms any plain rice dish.
Thin-sliced cucumber and shallot in sweetened rice vinegar; served alongside satay and fried foods to cut through richness.
