Is it vegetarian if it is made with tomatoes?
No. The typical nam prik ong contains ground pork. If you are vegetarian, do not choose it by the tomato color alone. Ask about the meat and the seasonings too.
Nam Prik Ong
Nam Phrik Ong · น้ำพริกอ่อง
Meet nam prik ong, a sauce eaten with vegetables at Northern Thai meals. It is a red dipping sauce made from tomatoes, ground pork and chilies. Dab a little on vegetables or eat it with sticky rice, and you taste the savory depth of pork and the tang of tomato together. Order it with sai ua to set a Northern Thai table.
Nam phrik ong · Takeaway · CC BY-SA 3.0
Resized for display · Photo provided under CC BY-SA 3.0
What does it taste like?
Chili seasoning is added to the tangy tomato and the savory pork. The smooth sauce goes with crunchy vegetables and the two textures work together. The heat differs from place to place.
Even a tomato sauce has ground pork in it.
Dish basics
- Dish name
- Nam Prik Ong · Nam Phrik Ong
- Thai name
- น้ำพริกอ่อง
- Type
- Sides & grilled
- Region
- Northern Thailand · A dipping sauce of the North
- Key ingredients
- Made with tomatoes, ground pork and chilies. It is a sauce you eat a little at a time with sticky rice and vegetables.
The dish and where it comes from
Nam prik is a dipping sauce eaten with vegetables or rice in Thailand. The North has many kinds of nam prik, and nam prik ong is the type made with tomatoes and pork. You can find it with sticky rice and vegetables at a khantoke meal, where food is set out on small tables.
How to order and eat it
- Check that sticky rice and vegetables come with it, and order it with other Northern dishes.
- Dab a little sauce on a vegetable and try it first. Eaten with sticky rice, it gives you a different texture.
- It is a pork dish even though it is a tomato sauce. If you avoid meat or animal-based seasonings, tell the staff before you order.
Frequently asked questions
Do you eat the sauce on its own?
You eat it a little at a time with vegetables, sticky rice and so on. Order it with grilled dishes such as sai ua and you can share a range of flavors.
More dishes and cities to explore
Official sources and references
If you want to read more about the food and the regions behind it, these sources are a good place to start. Ingredients and recipes can vary from one restaurant to the next.
Sharing image credit: Takeaway · CC BY-SA 3.0