Red Nahm Yum - Thai Chilli and Citrus Dressing

Nahm yum is always somewhere on the Farang menu. Not always in the same form, not always on the same dish, but it's there - working away in the background of salads, marinades, dipping sauces. It's one of those preparations that once you understand it you start seeing it everywhere in Thai cooking.

The reason it works so well is that it hits all four flavours at once - sweet, salty, sour and spicy - and when those are properly balanced it makes for something fresh and punchy and intense that lifts whatever it's on. It will also ceviche fish if you leave it long enough, which tells you something about the acid content. Not many dressings can do that.

Two ingredients worth talking about. Coriander root is in here and it matters. All the flavour in a coriander plant starts at the root and travels up through the stems to the leaves, so if you're only ever using the leaves you're missing the most concentrated part of the plant. It turns up in Thai dressings, pastes and sauces constantly for that reason. The easiest way to get it at home is to buy a living coriander plant from a supermarket - they're widely available and much cheaper than bunches - then pull it out of the pot and use the roots yourself.

Thai baby garlic is smaller and sweeter than regular garlic and you don't need to peel it, which is one of those small things that makes a real difference when you're making this regularly. If you can't find it, regular garlic works fine but use less - it's significantly stronger and will take over the dressing if you're not careful.

As for what to put it on - a cold chicken salad with fresh herbs, a grilled seafood salad with peanuts, ceviche. Swap the fish sauce for seaweed sauce and it becomes a vegan dressing that works just as well over crispy tofu. It's one of those things that doesn't really have a wrong answer.

Red Nahm Yum

Serves: 4-6 as a dressing Prep: 15 minutes Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients

• 6-8 red bird's eye chillies

• 4-5 Thai baby garlic cloves, unpeeled (or 2-3 regular garlic cloves, peeled)

• 1 coriander root, cleaned and roughly chopped

• 2 tbsp palm sugar

• 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (around 2-3 limes)

• 2 tbsp fish sauce

• 1 tbsp tamarind paste

• 6 long red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced

Method

1. In a pestle and mortar, pound the bird's eye chillies, garlic and coriander root together until you have as smooth a paste as possible. Take your time here - the coriander root is fibrous and needs proper work to break down fully.

2. Add the palm sugar and pound until it starts to dissolve into the paste.

3. Add the lime juice, fish sauce and tamarind, stirring well to combine. Taste as you go - it should be bright, salty, sour and hot all at once. Adjust any element that needs it.

4. Stir through the sliced long red chillies for colour and a gentler background heat.

5. Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to 3 days. Give it a stir before using.

Chef's notes

To use as a ceviche dressing, slice your fish thinly, coat generously and leave for 10-15 minutes depending on thickness. The acid does the work.

For a vegan version, swap the fish sauce for seaweed sauce in the same quantity. Works well over crispy tofu with fresh herbs and toasted peanuts.

The dressing is at its brightest and most punchy when fresh. It keeps, but something leaves with it after a day in the fridge.

More recipes at faranglondon.co.uk. Sauces and pastes for cooking Thai at home at payst.co.uk.