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Thai

Nam jim seafood

Non-vegetarian

น้ำจิ้มซีฟู้ด · nam chim siifuut

Green bird's eye chillies, garlic and coriander root pounded and loosened with lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. A fiercely hot, sour and salty dip for grilled and steamed seafood.

Nam jim seafood is a Thai dip from Thailand, ready in about 10 minutes and made with green chilli, fish sauce and lime juice. It serves 6 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
0 min
Total
10 min
Serves
6
Level
Beginner
Calories
22

Ingredients

6 servings (about 25 ml)

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Wash the coriander roots well (they hold grit) and chop; chop the chillies; squeeze the limes.

    Fresh herbs being chopped
    How it looks · Photo: RDNE Stock project on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Pound the garlic (opens in a new tab), coriander root, chillies and salt in a mortar for 2–3 minutes to a coarse, wet paste. Pounding rather than blending keeps the sauce bright and slightly rough.

    Spices being ground in a mortar and pestle
    How it looks · Photo: https://kaboompics.com/ on Pexels

  3. Step 3

    Add the sugar (opens in a new tab) and pound briefly to dissolve, then stir in the fish sauce (opens in a new tab) and lime juice (opens in a new tab). Taste: it should hit sour and salty first, then hot, with a little sweetness behind. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves (opens in a new tab).

    Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
Thailand · Commonly attributedUbiquitous at Thai seafood restaurants and beach grills; proportions are a standard home balance.More food from Thailand
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Dips & spreads · Sauces
Cooking method
No-cook
Taste
spicy (chilli heat), sour, salty, garlicky
Diet
Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Cook more with
Green chilli · Fish sauce · Lime juice · Garlic · Coriander leaves · Sugar

Allergens

  • Contains: Fishfrom fish sauce
  • May contain: Crustaceansfrom fish sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

22 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 25 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 14%
  • Carbohydrate 86%
  • Fat 0%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy22 kcal87 kcal
Protein0.8 g3.2 g
Carbohydrate5.1 g20.4 g
Net carbohydrate4.9 g19.6 g
Sugars3.2 g12.7 g
Added sugars2.5 g10 g
Fibre0.2 g0.8 g
Fat0 g0.2 g
Saturated fat0 g0 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium773 mg3092 mg
Salt equivalent1.9 g7.7 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
69 mg
Calcium
13 mg
Iron
0.2 mg
Magnesium
18 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
8 µg
Vitamin C
11 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
7 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Make it within an hour of serving; lime juice turns bitter and the colour dulls as it stands.

Common mistakes

  • Using bottled lime juice, which tastes flat and bitter.

Serve with

  • Grilled prawns, squid and whole fish (pla pao).
  • Steamed mussels, crab and clams.
  • Thai seafood barbecue (moo kata) and grilled pork neck.

Storage

  • Best on the day; refrigerate up to 1 day.

Variations

  • Red chilli version (Thailand): Red bird's eye chillies for a sweeter, redder sauce; some cooks add a little pounded shallot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Green chilli, green bird's eye chillies (about 10), stemmed and roughly chopped15 g
  • Lime juice, freshly squeezed60 ml · 62 g
Used in steps 1, 2, 3

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Reviews & corrections

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