Lone Dao Jiow
Submitted by skyladog
Lon Tao Jiao: a Thai coconut milk and fermented bean sauce dip served with raw cucumber, cabbage, and green beans. A salty-sweet-sour Thai vegetable platter.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
10 minCOOK
25 minREADY
40 minLon Tao Jiao is the Thai relish tradition in action. A bowl of rich dipping sauce sits at the center of a plate of crudité-style fresh vegetables (cucumber, cabbage wedges, green beans), and each bite is made by dragging a raw vegetable through the sauce. It is the Thai answer to a cheese board.
The sauce is built from reduced coconut milk brought to where the fat breaks out and glistens on top (the Thai technique called tak na man), then thickened with fermented soybean paste (tao jiao) pounded with shallots. Palm sugar and tamarind round out the three-way balance of salty, sour, and sweet that defines Thai flavor.
Chef Tips
- Reduce the coconut milk without stirring too much. You want the oil to split out and float, which is what carries the shallot-bean paste flavor.
- Pound the shallots and bean sauce in a mortar, not a food processor. The uneven texture is part of the dish’s character.
- Taste for balance before serving. Adjust sugar and tamarind until it sits in the salty-sour-sweet pocket. No single note should dominate.
- Serve the sauce warm or room temperature, never hot. The flavors flatten out at high heat.
Variations
- Add chopped cooked shrimp or ground pork in the last 2 minutes for a meatier version.
- Include slices of Thai eggplant, young corn, or yard-long beans on the vegetable platter.
- Use brown sugar in place of palm sugar if palm sugar is hard to find.
Ingredients
Directions
Slice the shallots lengthways Use brown sugar if palm sugar isn’t available.
Peel and slice the cucumbers diagonally into thick ovals trim the green beans cut the cabbage into two inch wedges.
In a small, heavy bottomed saucepan, bring the coconut milk to a gentle simmer over a low heat.
Cook, stirring gently, until the coconut milk is fragent and it’s oil glistens on the surface (about 6 to 8 mins).
While it simmers, combine the bean sauce and half of the shallots in a mortar.
Using a pestle, mash the mixture to a chunky paste.
When the coconut milk is ready add the shallot paste and stir Add all the vegetables except the cucumbers, cabbage, green beans and the remaining shallots. Cook for five minutes. Add the sugar and simmer until the shallots wilt and the sugar melts, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tamarind and taste the sauce, which should be a balance of salty, sour and sweet. Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and place it on a plate, beans. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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