Cooking in
Japan
Thai · Northern Thailand
Nam Prik Num — Northern Green Pepper Relish / น้ำพริกหนุ่ม
Nam prik num is the most fundamental of Northern Thai relishes — young (num = young), mild green spur chillies charred whole over flame or in hot coals until blistered and partially softened, then pounded with charred shallots, garlic, and salt into a rough paste. Its colour should be a deep, burnished green-black from the char; its flavour is mildly hot, deeply smoky, and pungently aromatic from the charred alliums. This is the relish that accompanies most Northern Thai grilled meats and is the anchor of the Northern vegetable platter. The technique is simple — the quality is entirely in the sourcing of fresh, mild green chillies and in the completeness of the charring.
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Cook
I
The Market List
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300 g
green spur chillies (prik chee fah khiao)
whole, fresh, uncut
80 g
shallots
unpeeled
Your own market
40 g
garlic
unpeeled, cloves separated
Your own market
1 tsp
salt
to season
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Set the chillies, unpeeled shallots, and unpeeled garlic directly over an open flame or in hot coals, turning them as each face blackens — the skins act as a slow buffer, so the flesh steams and softens from within rather than scorching dry. The exterior of the chillies must be completely blackened and blistered all over; the shallots and garlic skins should be charred through to papery ash. The chilli interior should yield slightly when pressed but still carry a faint resistance — it is not cooked through.
2
Remove from the heat and, when cool enough to handle, peel the charred skins from the shallots and garlic so their sweet, smoke-edged flesh goes into the relish clean. Do not peel the chillies — the blackened skin fragments remain in the relish and contribute texture and depth, so discard only any skin that falls away of its own accord.
3
Place the charred chillies in the mortar first, add the salt, and pound to break them open, so the salt draws out their moisture and smoke evenly before the other aromatics are added. Add the shallots and garlic and pound to a rough, coarse paste — visible fragments of charred chilli skin should remain throughout, and the colour of the finished relish should be a deep, burnished green-black. Pound no further once a rough paste is achieved, or the relish will turn muddy and lose the texture that defines it.
4
Taste and adjust salt only. The relish should be mildly hot, deeply smoky, and pungently aromatic — no lime juice, no fish sauce.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Fresh green spur chillies sourced at peak season from a Northern Thai market, pounded in an old clay mortar whose walls carry the accumulated depth of repeated use over years.
02
Estate — Fresh green spur chillies from a reliable Asian greengrocer, charred over hardwood or charcoal embers; a well-seasoned clay mortar.
03
Market — Fresh green spur chillies charred over a domestic gas flame; a new clay mortar or a stone mortar.
04
House — Banana chillies substituted for spur chillies — the relish will be milder and less characterful, but the technique and structure remain intact.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The exterior of every chilli is completely blackened and blistered, with no remaining green skin visible.
◇Touch. The charred chilli yields to gentle pressure but still offers faint resistance at its centre — it is not limp or fully soft.
◇Sight. The finished relish is a deep, burnished green-black rough paste with visible fragments of charred chilli skin throughout — it is not smooth, and it is not pale green.
◇Smell. The paste gives off a pronounced smoky, pungent aroma from the charred alliums and chillies — the smell of raw or under-cooked chilli indicates insufficient charring.
◇Where it lives or dies. The dish lives or dies on the completeness of the char: the exterior of each chilli must be entirely blackened, yet the interior must retain a faint firmness — under-charring produces a pale, shallow relish, and cooking the chilli through produces a mushy one.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Bushmills Malt 10 Year Old
Old Bushmills Distillery · County Antrim — Bushmills Distillery
Not yet stocked in Japan
Whisky
From Japan
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Without alcohol
Genmaicha — Yamamotoyama Genmaicha Green Tea with Roasted Rice
Yamamotoyama · Uji
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Tea
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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The working kitchen