When I lived in Hong Kong, a friend once asked me to help her prepare fresh spring rolls for a party. She made a dipping sauce for them that was so delicious, I had to ask for the recipe. A few years later, when I was back in my home town in Thailand, I decided to tweak her recipe a bit. I added some tamarind, which is a real speciality of my province, and found that its sweet, tangy taste gave my friend’s already delicious sauce the perfect twist.
Ingredients
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450ml (3⁄4 pint) tamarind water (made by mixing tamarind paste or concentrate with water, as per the package instructions)
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10 tablespoons sugar (any granulated sugar or caster sugar will do)
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5 tablespoons palm sugar
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5 tablespoons light soy sauce
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5 tablespoons sweet soy sauce
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3 tablespoons finely chopped pickled garlic 1 teaspoon chilli powder
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1 tablespoon salt
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50 g (2 oz) roasted peanuts, crushed
Method
- Put the tamarind water and sugars into a deep saucepan and heat gently, stirring continuously until the sugars have dissolved. Bring up to a simmer, then stir in the soy sauces, garlic, chilli powder and salt and reduce until the sauce is thick, gloopy and syrupy.
- Finally, add the peanuts and stir well.
- Store the sauce in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use within 4 weeks.
