Jeow Som Dipping Sauce

Like “salsa” there’s a redundancy here: the Laotian “jeow” translates as “sauce,” underlining this sour (“som”= sour) addition to a meal as an obvious staple on Southeast Asian tables. Despite its strength, you’ll note that the sauce will not overwhelm the protein. Rather, it will bring out flavors in the meats in unexpected ways, especially if you go all-in with the chilies. The first time we prepared this it was a revelation. After that, a given. Consider this a house favorite (and indulge our addition of Serrano chilies, a bold touchstone of our California roots that plays nicely with their Thai counterpart).

INGREDIENTS

• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 Serrano chili, stem removed

• 1 Thai red chili, stem removed

• 5 garlic cloves, peeled

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice

• ¼ cup fish sauce, we prefer Red Boat

• 2 ½ tbsp raw sugar

• 4 sprigs of cilantro

PREPARATION

Separate the cilantro leaves from the stems and set aside. Transfer the ginger, Serrano chili, Thai chili, garlic cloves and cilantro stems to a blender and pulse until chopped. Add the sugar, lime juice and fish sauce and blend until well combined. Let the sauce sit for 20-30 minutes and then add the cilantro leaves and serve.