Destination
Luang Prabang
The story
Jeow bong is the specifically Luang Prabang variant of the wider jeow (Lao chilli-paste condiment) family: dried red chillies, garlic and shallots dry-roasted until fragrant and charred, then pounded in a mortar with fried pork skin (nang moo tod), fish sauce, tamarind and a little palm sugar into a thick, sweet-savoury-fiery paste that keeps for weeks in the fridge. Served in a small pot alongside a basket of sticky rice, a plate of raw vegetables (long beans, cucumber, cabbage, lettuce) and any grilled meat you're eating. Scoop with a piece of sticky rice, dab into the jeow, add a leaf of vegetable, eat.
Method
Heat a large dry heavy pan over medium heat. Add the dried chillies and toast 60 seconds per side until fragrant and slightly darker (careful not to burn). Transfer to a plate.
In the same dry pan, add the unpeeled garlic and shallots. Roast 10 to 12 minutes, turning often, until the skins are blackened in patches and the insides are soft. Cool and peel.
Wrap the shrimp paste in a small piece of foil. Toast in the same dry pan for 60 seconds per side until fragrant.
In a large mortar (or a food processor), combine the roasted chillies, peeled roasted garlic, peeled roasted shallots, shrimp paste and salt. Pound (or pulse) to a coarse paste.
Add the crushed pork rinds. Pound briefly until integrated into the paste but still with some texture. Don't fully pulverise the rinds; some crunch should remain.
Warm the oil in a wide heavy pan over medium heat. Add the paste and stir to combine with the oil. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, stirring often, until darkened and fragrant. Add the fish sauce, tamarind paste and palm sugar. Cook 3 to 4 minutes more, stirring, until glossy and thick.
Cool to room temperature. Transfer to a small jar and refrigerate. The jeow bong deepens in flavour over the first few days; keeps 3 to 4 weeks in the fridge.
Serve in a small dish alongside warm sticky rice, raw vegetables and grilled meat. Guests take a small handful of sticky rice, dab it into the jeow bong, wrap it around a piece of vegetable or meat and eat with their fingers.
Tips
- Dry-roast everything first. Roasting the chillies, garlic and shallots in a dry pan is what gives jeow bong its smoky, char-noted depth. Untoasted aromatics give you a hot but flat paste.
- Crispy pork rinds are the specific Luang Prabang ingredient. Sold at Asian grocers as nang moo tod, chicharon or pork rinds. Without them, the dish is just a chilli paste; with them, it's jeow bong.
- Palm sugar, not white sugar. The molasses depth of palm sugar (or dark muscovado) is what balances the salt and heat. White sugar gives a flat, one-note sweetness.
- Cook the paste briefly in oil. This is what integrates the ingredients and deepens the flavour. 5 to 8 minutes of gentle cooking in a pan turns the raw pounded paste into a proper condiment.
- Best after a few days in the fridge. Fresh jeow bong is a bit raw; after 3 or 4 days the flavours integrate and the paste deepens. Make a batch on Sunday and use through the week.
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