As discussed recently in comments to this post, two chilli pepper/oil/seafood concoctions were discussed. Here we have them below. On the left is the Thai nam prik pow, a condiment featuring roasted chilli peppers, soybean oil, garlic, shallots, dried shrimp and palm sugar. On the right is XO sauce featuring chilli peppers in oil with dried shrimp and scallops, some sugar and some other stuff. The sauces are similar in their spicyness, body and shrimpy overtones. XO is saltier and much less sweet. With the prik pow, palm sugar is a major component so there is a slight crystalline crunch if you were to eat a glob. These two sauces share some affinity and could definitely be used in similar situations. I have had nam prik pow (hee, I almost typed man prik pow- HELLO!) as a dipping sauce for fresh shrimp chips at a Thai place in TUSTOSAN and I could see XO being yummy with pot stickers. I think both would be great on chinese or regular broccoli, but the gas would be ridiculous.
I post these pictures so Uncanny can get his ass to Super 88 and get some (also, Res- I know he is currently pounding the XO but he needs the new flavor of nam prik pow to go with the man prik pow in his life).
“I post these pictures so Uncanny can get his ass to Super 88 and get some”
hahahaHA! to get that here, we have the Ranch 99 market. I WIN BY 11!
hee, I almost typed man prik pow- HELLO!
Ay puta, we all know heteronormativity is not your thing.
I mean, saucewagon? Jeez…
Yeah, SauceKart or SauceSemiTruck would be much more heteronormativiousisious.
i love the XO text: MILDLY HOT!
unneccesary punctuation? or some sort of warning that this hotness is on a scale heretofore unknown.
Thing is, it’s not that mild. I think it is hotter than its “medium hot” companion.
I thought teh would get a kick out of Yank Sing brand, but maybe he didn’t notice.
Maybe it’s like the hot scale used by Thai restaurants in Seattle. This is usually done with a rating of 1 to 5 stars. On the mild/medium/hot scale used by Bay Are Thai places, “hot” is about 2 stars (maybe 2 1/2) in Seattle. Generally, my advice is do NOT order more than 2 stars unless you know what you’re doing. I’ve also seen at least one place in Seattle that adds a further category beyond 5 stars: “Very Hot”…
Though it’s been a while since I’ve been to Seattle, my recollection is that, as a rule, Thai food is also better there than in the Bay Area.
I challenge P-love to Thai hot Som Tum Papaya Salad at Rod Dee at UC’s neck of the woods.
I MEANT DOK BUA.
That is half ass.
Oh, my post was intended as descriptive, not as a challenge. I don’t think I’ve ever ordered more than 3 stars. The Dok Bua website gives an impression of exceeding yummitude though. And it’s true, Thais will take various exotic states of matter and stick the innocuous label “salad” on them.
I’ve yet to experience Thai food in the US that I think is too hot. However, whilst in ethnicia of Toronto, one needs occasionally be wary of even a medium spicy. I will have to return to Seattle and see whether Plover is speaking the truth or talking through his/her/its/bird’s cloaca.
I vote cloaca!
Why do I have a feeling that Pinko’s interjection is a statement of general principle not restricted to the subject at hand?