Ayara Thai Celebrates its Anniversary with Regional Nam Prik Dishes

z_signMany cuisines have a defining sauce they call their own and within that sauce, there are many variations. Some examples of this include marinara (Italy), hollandaise (France), mole (Mexico), tzatziki (Greece) and barbecue (US).

 Nam Prik is a sauce that is the base for many dishes in the Thai cuisine. It is typically made with chiles, garlic, shallots, lime juice and shrimp paste. While it may not seem that difficult to make, traditionalists require that the garlic and shallots be hand sliced. This facilitates the sautéing process.

 This month, Ayara Thai is celebrating its 11th anniversary by featuring Nam Prik. Each weekend they will offer a version of Nam Prik that represents a different geographic region of Thailand. Last weekend Ayara Thai featured Nam Prik Num.

namprik1 Nam Prik Kapi is one of the most common versions of the sauce and It is often served with an omelette, steamed or raw veggies, sticky or steamed rice or mackerel. Nam Prik Kapi will be the featured version next weekend.

The line-up for the remaining weeks of August are:

 August 14th – 16th   Central Region – Nam Prik Kapi (น้ำพริกกะปิ) / Umami-filled fermented shrimp paste-based chili relish paired with fried mackerel and acacia omelette
August 21st – 23rd   Northeastern Region – Nam Prik Pla La (น้ำพริกปลาร้า) / Roasted mushroom and fermented fish sauce relish paired with assorted veggies and kabocha
August 28th – 30th   Southern Region – Nam Prik Goong Sot (น้ำพริกกุ้งสด) / Krabi-style fresh shrimp relish paired with a fluffy crab meat kai-jaew omelette and veggies

 ​For a chance to win a $200.00 Ayara Thai gift card, guests are encouraged to take a photo of their Nam Prik, post it on Instagram, tag @AyaraThai and use the hashtag #AyaraNamPrik. One entry per photo. A winning photo will be selected at random and will be announced on Monday, August 31st, 2015.

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