Grilled squid with nahm jim jeaw

Ingredients

• 500 g cleaned southern calamari
• 1 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ iceberg lettuce, cut into small wedges
• 1 bunch coriander
• 1 bunch Vietnamese mint
• 1 bunch Thai basil
• 1 lime, cut into wedges to serve

Nahm jim jaew

• 5 dried long chillies
• 2 white peppercorns
• 1 coriander root
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 red bird’s eye chilli, chopped
• 1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, thinly sliced
• 1 piece galangal, sliced
• 100 g tamarind puree
• 100 g sugar
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 100 ml fish sauce
• 100 ml lime juice

Resting time: 5 minutes

Instructions

1. Preheat a barbecue or grill plate over medium heat.
2. For the nahm jim jeaw, grill the whole chillies for a few minutes until lightly toasted and fragrant. Transfer the chillies to a mortar and pestle, add the peppercorns, coriander root, garlic and bird’s eye chilli and pound into a paste. Add the lemongrass and galangal and pound into a fine paste. Add the tamarind, sugar and chilli powder and mix well. Season with fish sauce and lime juice to taste. You should have a nice balance of salty, sweet and sour.
3. Place the squid in a shallow dish, pour over the kecap manis and oil and stir to coat well. Grill the squid until golden and lightly charred on both sides, then remove from the heat and set aside to rest.
4. To serve, arrange the squid, lettuce, herbs and lime wedges on a large serving plate with a bowl of nahm jim jeaw on the side. 

Photography by Kitti Gould.

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