A specifically northern Thai (Chiang Mai/Chiang Rai region) preparation — the tomato (a relatively recently introduced ingredient in Thailand) combined with the northern Thai fermented soybean paste (tao jiew) and the pork of the pig-raising Lanna tradition. The preparation has strong echoes of Yunnan province's cooking.
A northern Thai relish of minced pork, fresh tomatoes, and dried chilli paste — cooked down to a rough, meaty, slightly saucy consistency with garlic, shallots, and fermented soybean paste. Nam prik ong is a cooked nam prik — unlike the raw pounded relishes of central Thailand (nam prik kapi, Entry TH-07) or the charred relishes of the north (nam prik num, Entry TH-38), nam prik ong is a preparation where all components are cooked together to a concentrated, unified paste-sauce. It is eaten with sticky rice, vegetables, and crispy pork rinds.
**The paste:** - Dried chillies: soaked, pounded. - Garlic and shallots: charred directly (as for nam prik kapi, Entry TH-07). - Shrimp paste. Pounded to a rough paste (mortar, Entry TH-01). **The preparation:** 1. Fry the paste in a small amount of oil. 2. Add minced pork. Fry until the pork is cooked and slightly caramelised. 3. Add fresh tomatoes (chopped), fermented soybean paste (tao jiew), and a small amount of water. 4. Simmer, stirring frequently, for 20–25 minutes until the tomatoes have completely broken down and the preparation is thick, unified, and slightly oily on the surface. 5. Adjust with fish sauce and a small amount of palm sugar. **The finished consistency:** Nam prik ong is thick — not poured over rice but spooned on the side, the way a meat ragu is served with polenta. The tomato's pectin breaks down during the long simmer and the paste's oil separates slightly to the surface, signalling that the preparation is correctly reduced. Decisive moment: The point at which the tomatoes have completely broken down and the oil separates to the surface — the sign that the preparation has been cooked long enough for the water content of the tomatoes to evaporate and the oil in the paste and the pork fat to rise. This oil separation (the same principle as cracked coconut cream) signals the correct endpoint. Sensory tests: **Sight — oil separation:** The surface of a correctly made nam prik ong shows a ring of reddish-orange oil (from the chilli in the paste and the pork fat) at the surface. This is the same quality indicator as properly reduced Italian sugo — the fat rising signals that the water has evaporated and the flavour has concentrated.
David Thompson, *Thai Food* (2002); *Thai Street Food* (2010)