a white oval dish filled with a small bowl of nam chub relish alongside slices of omelette and lettuce

Nam chub with Thai omelette

Name: Nam chub with Thai omelette
Total time: 15 min
Yield: Serves 2 as a starter
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 2 tbsp shrimp paste; 1 tbsp palm sugar; 5 garlic cloves; 4 bird’s-eye chillies (or more if you like it spicy); 2 limes, juiced; 4 eggs; 1 tbsp fish sauce; a squeeze of lime juice; sunflower oil, for deep-frying

Preparation and cooking time
- Total time15 mins
Easy
Serves 2 as a starter

Ingredients

2 tbsp shrimp paste
1 tbsp palm sugar
5 garlic cloves
4 bird’s-eye chillies (or more if you like it spicy)
2 limes, juiced

THAI OMELETTE

4 eggs
1 tbsp fish sauce
a squeeze of lime juice
sunflower oil, for deep-frying

Method

STEP 1
Pound the shrimp paste with the sugar, garlic, chillies and 1 tsp of salt with a pestle and mortar.
STEP 2
Add the lime juice and 2 tbsp of warm water, stirring to combine – it should taste hot, sour and salty.
STEP 3
Beat the eggs with the fish sauce and lime juice until combined.
STEP 4
Heat 2-3cm depth of oil in a small pan until it just begins to smoke. Pour the beaten egg through a sieve from a height into the oil – it will form crispy comet tails. When it has risen in height, carefully turn over using tongs, and cook until golden, then drain.
STEP 5
Enjoy with a selection of herbs and vegetables, including cucumber, celery, lettuce, radishes, pineapple, aubergine, long beans, green mango and sprigs of curry leaf.