Variations on the Vestal Prik

Prik Nam has been the mother sauce of late for most of my culinary adventures because I made about a half gallon of the stuff and I can’t seem to use it all up. It is a very simple sauce that I came back to in the previously written spoof of a bridal shower where the menu included many tasteless prick references that went unnoticed by the ladies attending. My cousin, both the hostess and a female, was rather baffled that such blatant crude references to the male anatomy were lost on the ladies. But she has fallen for this vestal sauce as much as I have. We will follow with the base for a stir fry, salad dressing, grilled salmon marinade and sauce.

For reference purposes we will use this base recipe of ½ C chopped Thai chilies, ½ C chopped ginger, ¼ C chopped onion, ¼ C chopped garlic (these are all chopped about 1/8 inch), 2 C low sodium soy sauce. Place all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender and give it a whip for about 30 seconds, put it in a storage container and let sit in the fridge for 24 hours. The next day add 2 T agave nectar or ¼ C Turbinado sugar or your sweetener of choice to taste. The goal is just enough sweetness to take the edge off the ginger and chilies but not to be too sweet. This is a base sauce that you will add fresh orange juice, lime juice, herbs, and other spicy condiments to later so don’t go overboard. Don’t overcomplicate the Prik!

A good idea is to freeze half of the sauce into ice cube portions for later use. One batch I just left in the fridge and after 5 days I diluted it with a cup or so of water and a bit more sugar since the ginger and heat of the chilies became a bit too powerful. I generally wanted more fresh ginger in my diet and I found this to be a good way to do it.

For a dipping sauce or salad dressing I would add 1T of lime juice or 2 T orange juice and some fresh chopped cilantro or basil.

For stir fry, I add the sauce after the meat or tofu was seared and the veggies were steamed. You can also marinate the meat in the sauce, but when you cook it you will want to watch for the saltiness. I found seasoning the meat with turmeric or cumin before cooking to be a nice earthy balance to the sauce. When finishing your stir fry that is when I add the squeeze of fruit juice and herb of choice like in the dipping sauce.

For the Salmon, I chose some bright red Coho and sockeye. These are a thinner filets, so if you want more salmon flavor choose a thicker filet like king. An Ivory King filet Is a gorgeous presentation, but the stuff is hard to get. I added a pinch of Thai Red curry paste so the sauce and marinated the salmon for about 4 hours. Marinate less if you want, not more, or dilute the sauce with some water so the flavors compliment the salmon. Remember, the marinade will become a glaze on the salmon thus concentrating the flavors. A friend said he used some guava jelly and grilled some chicken this way, but I think he was just getting his freak on. In any case, I will make no actual claims and no lawyers will get involved.

For beef I added lemon grass one time and orange zest another time. When you zest your fruit do it into the sauce or right over the meat. There is a lot of flavor in that spray that really maximize the flavor in a marinade or the finished sauce. You know how good your hands smell when you peel an orange? Also, in my experience, the less you cook the fruit juice the better. I gave the base sauce with a squeeze of orange juice to a friend and she ate it like soup. A revitalizing tonic I guess.

It is a good start for a sweet potato curry. Prik nam is my answer to bad teriyaki sauce and brings fresh flavors to my quick meal plan. Enjoy.