Kitchen Passport
4 eating
Photograph of the finished Naem

Thailand · Nem chua Thái Naem

Naem

40 min Hands-on time + 3 ngày soaking or marinating first
HardDifficulty
5 stepsSteps

Method

  1. 1 Grind the lean pork until very fine, making sure absolutely no water is mixed in.
  2. 2 Mix the meat with leftover rice, crushed garlic, and salt; the rice provides starch for the fermenting bacteria.
  3. 3 Knead the meat until it becomes a smooth paste, then stuff it into banana leaves along with sliced garlic and whole chili peppers.
  4. 4 Wrap it tightly, squeezing out all the air because oxygen spoils the spring rolls, it doesn't ferment them.
  5. 5 Leave it in a warm place for 3 days until the fermented pork sausage turns sour and pink, then refrigerate it to stop the fermentation process.