Nam Prik Ong: Comfort food from My Mom's Kitchen

Whenever I think about my mom, I think about her tasty Northern Thai food. One of my favorite childhood dishes is called 'Nam Prik Ong,' a minced pork dish mixed with tomatoes and aromatic spices. My mom was born in a small province of Northern Thailand and she inherited her cooking talents from my grandmom, who also learned how to prepare this exceptional ethnic cuisine from her mother. When I was young, I enjoyed visiting a village where my grandmom lived. I remembered her spacious home was always filled with a tantalizing aroma of spices and herbs. Her big family, including my uncles and aunts and their families, ate together, and it was fun to listen to their lively conversation.

At home, my mom often cooked an unusally large amount of food for three of us children. She would get up in the early morning and hopped on a bus to the market. On her way back, she usually hired a tuk tuk (a popular three-wheeled vehicle in Thailand) since a tuk tuk had more space for several bags of ingredients that she bought from the market. The tuk tuk driver would ask her, "Did you buy all this for your food shop?" He thought that she owned a restaurant because she bought so much food! My mom would reply with a smile, "No, this is just for my family." The tuk tuk driver would sometimes have to help my mom carry her heavy bags down from his vehicle.

I like Nam Prik Ong because it combines spicy, salty, sweet, and sour flavors in a perfect union. The fragrant smell of Nam Prik Ong comes from dried chillies, garlic, shallots (Asian small red onions), galangal, and sweet tomatoes. Nam Prik Ong is often served with a variety of steamed vegetables such as cabbage, carrot, and long green beans. It is also served with sliced fresh cucumber. You will get plenty of vitamin A from carrot. Cabbage, tomatoes, and cucumber are excellent sources of vitamin C.

Since I couldn't find 'Nam Prik Ong' in any Thai restaurants in the US., I cooked this dish by myself at home. I thought of my mom as I blended garlic, shallots, juicy tomatoes, and pork in a hot wok. To give a final touch to the dish, I garnished it with fresh cilantro sprigs that contrasted with the vibrant red color from tomatoes. I am not as a good cook as my mom but the result of my experiment was fantastic. Together with a scoop of steamed jasmine rice and a glass of Thai iced tea made this a perfect dinner that reminded me of my mom's love and her unique heritage.

For delicious Nam Prik Ong's recipe, click here.