Nam Chim Gai (Thai Brussels Sprouts With Candy Chili Sauce) Recipe

Thanksgiving has turn out to be a favourite vacation in my prolonged household, however this wasn’t at all times the case. Rising up with immigrant mother and father, my sisters and cousins longed for gluttonous feasts full of roasted turkey, tacky casseroles, different starch-filled sides, and pie. Nonetheless, the Thai elders weren’t in the slightest degree all in favour of even determining learn how to activate the oven. 

We lastly took issues into our personal palms as younger adults, dragging our mother and father and grandparents kicking and screaming alongside the best way. They in the end liked that it was one other excuse to collect, chatter for hours, and play playing cards. However they bemoaned the meals. God forbid there isn’t Asian meals at each meal they eat!

In an try to appease everybody, I reimagined some basic Thanksgiving dishes with flavorings that might entice the Thai aunties and uncles whereas not fully offending the American Thanksgiving traditionalists amongst us. One crowd favourite is that this dish of roasted Brussels sprouts with candy chili sauce. It begins like nearly another recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts however is completed off with a candy, funky, ever so barely spicy sauce.

Why I Love Candy Chili Sauce

Candy chili sauce, identified familiarly in Thai as nam jim gai—or rooster dipping sauce—is an undisputed unifier. The sticky, more-sweet-than-spicy sauce is served alongside Thai grilled rooster and sticky rice (therefore the title) but it surely’s additionally nice with fried spring rolls, crispy wontons, fried rooster…the checklist goes on and certainly contains roasted turkey. 

You can also make your personal candy chili sauce however most individuals I do know simply inventory their fridges with large bottles of Mae Ploy model sauce from their native Asian market. You’ll discover loads of artistic makes use of for it from marinades to doctoring up different sauces, together with ketchup and aioli. 

Just like Sriracha’s skyrocketing fame in America, candy Thai candy chili sauce has made the leap to modern restaurant menus, usually paired with roasted greens, like I do right here. However as a rule, these restaurant dishes are too candy for my style, so to steadiness the bottled condiment’s sweetness right here I’ve combined it with fish sauce, sriracha, and slightly butter to emulsify it into one thing that appears a bit like buffalo sizzling sauce that’ll coat the sprouts. It’s candy, with a kick of warmth and a savory spine, and pairs completely with the earthy sprouts.

Ideas for Cooking the Brussels Sprouts

Like many nice Brussels sprouts recipes, this dish begins with searing them in a scorching sizzling oven earlier than they will develop the sulfurous compounds that emerge when sprouts are cooked too lengthy. The result’s charred and caramelized sprouts with crispy, brown exterior leaves. This may be completed simply as simply in a wok or massive skillet in smaller parts, however you’d be searing batches all day to yield sufficient to feed a crowd, which is why I select to stay with the oven for this recipe.

Along with beginning the Brussels sprouts in a sizzling oven, I make use of just a few different strategies for making them additional crispy and caramelized, together with reducing the sprouts in half to hurry up cooking, tossing them with rendered pancetta fats (you may put aside the crispy bits so as to add to the sprouts later), and putting them reduce facet down on a preheated sheet pan. This floor space contact and rapid sizzle will ship a pleasant brown shade throughout and a beautiful roasted, nutty taste. (For a vegetarian choice, you possibly can merely toss the sprouts in impartial cooking oil as a substitute of fats.)

The ultimate flourish is a squeeze of lime juice to present the sprouts that balanced sweet-salty-sour taste Thai meals is thought for. The recipe comes collectively in nicely below an hour, and most of that point it is simply within the oven so you are able to do different issues whereas the Brussels cook dinner. The top result’s a dish that is excellent for Thanksgiving or actually any evening of the week—no want to attend for a vacation!

November 2024