PreparationReferences
Jaew Phrik Reaper
Isaan table sauce carrying a measured dose of chilli tincture
The science on why raw reaper in an acid base arrives in pulses, and the method for lifting the placenta out, are on this record.
Nam Jim Jaew, Carolina reaper
Recipes · Nam Jim Jaew, Carolina reaper
First revision · 23 SEP 2026
PreparationFirst revisionVariationVia mcp
Nam Jim Jaew, Carolina reaper
The plain jaew with raw deveined Carolina reaper, dosed one pod at a time
A variation of Nam Jim Jaew. With raw deveined Carolina reaper on top of the bird's eye
The same toasted rice, toasted dried chilli, fish sauce and lime base as the plain jaew. The flesh of deveined Carolina reapers goes in raw, minced almost to a paste. Removing the placenta takes out most of the capsaicin and keeps the fruit and floral aroma of the flesh. In an acid base the heat arrives in pulses, not as one wall. Dose one pod, taste once, then wait 15 minutes. Reaper heat peaks late. Make it beside the plain jaew. The simplest way is one base split into two bowls, with the reaper going into one.
Batch
Makes 1 bowl for one birdWhy the first revision
First version. Written before the first batch was eaten. It is the plain jaew with the flesh of deveined Carolina reapers added raw, dosed one pod at a time with a 15 minute wait between.
Tap a step to cross it out0 / 16 done
Prepare
1 step-
Put on gloves. Keep them on until the reaper is in the bowl.
Tool nitrile gloves
Khao khua
3 steps-
Put the glutinous rice in a dry pan on medium heat. Shake the pan all the time.
Work Dry-toasting -
Toast the rice until it is deep gold and smells nutty.
Time 5 minWork Dry-toasting -
Pound the rice in the mortar to a coarse powder. Do not make it fine.
Work GrindingTool mortar and pestle
Chilli
4 steps-
Put the dried chillies in the same dry pan on medium heat. Press and turn them.
Only the dried chillies go in the pan. Never the reaper.
Work Dry-toasting -
Stop when they are dark red and smell roasted. Do not let them go black.
Time 3 min -
Pound the dried chillies coarse. Keep flakes and pieces.
Work GrindingTool mortar and pestle -
Mince the flesh of one reaper by knife, almost to a paste.
A piece left whole puts the heat of a whole pod into one bite.
Dressing
5 steps-
Stir the palm sugar into the fish sauce until it dissolves.
Palm sugar dissolves poorly once acid is present.
-
Add the lime juice. Stir.
-
Add the dried chilli, the rice powder, the shallot, the bird's eye chilli and the spring onion. Stir.
-
Stir in the minced reaper.
-
Leave the sauce for 5 minutes. Correct the salt and sour with fish sauce or lime juice.
Time 5 min
Dose
2 steps-
Taste one small bite. Wait 15 minutes before you decide anything.
Time 15 min -
Only then mince and add the second reaper, if it needs more.
To finish
1 step-
Stir in the coriander leaf just before you serve. Label the bowl.
Notes
21
WARNING Taste once, then wait. Label the bowl.
Reaper heat peaks 10 to 20 minutes after the bite. A taste straight after mixing reads far milder than the sauce really is.
Taste one small bite. Then wait 15 minutes before you add the second pod. Do not taste and correct in quick rounds.
Once dressed, this bowl and the plain jaew look the same. Label the bowl or serve it on a different plate.
Put cold full-fat yoghurt or milk on the table. Casein lifts capsaicin off the tongue. Water only moves it around.
2
WARNING Never toast or blend the reaper
Only the dried Thai chillies go in the dry pan. A reaper in a dry pan or a blender puts capsaicin into the air and makes the room unusable.
The reaper goes in raw. Its fruit and floral aroma sits in the flesh and is volatile, so raw keeps it.
Provenance
Made as the second bowl beside the plain jaew, for a chicken whose paste already carried deveined reapers and a naga.
Related
2RecipePairs with
Gai Yang Isaan
Spatchcocked chicken in a pounded paste, cooked upright beside wood coals
Serve it beside the plain jaew with this chicken, so each person picks the heat.
The pattern
The plain idea under this dish. Cook it with what you have. The full recipe is on the Method tab.
This is the pattern of Nam Jim Jaew, the dish this one varies.
toasted rice powder + toasted dried chilli and fresh chilli + fish sauce, lime and sugar dressing + shallot and spring onion + coriander
The parts
5binder
Sticky (glutinous) rice, toasted in a dry pan and pounded to a coarse powder
Takes up the free liquid and holds the sauce against the meat. Gives a nutty, roasted taste.
heat
Dried Thai chilli, toasted and pounded to coarse flakes, plus fresh bird's eye chilli, sliced thin
The dried chilli gives roasted depth. The fresh chilli gives a sharp heat on top.
- Swap: Add raw Carolina reaper flesh, placenta removed, minced almost to a paste, on top of the bird's eye chilli. Much hotter, with a fruit and floral smell. Dose: the flesh of 1 pod per bowl. Taste one small bite. Wait 15 minutes. Add the flesh of a second pod only after the wait, and only if the sauce needs more. Use 2 pods at most. The heat peaks 10 to 20 minutes after the bite. Never toast or blend the reaper. Wear gloves. Label the bowl.
dressing
Fish sauce, palm sugar and lime juice
Fish sauce gives the salt. Lime gives the sour. A little sugar rounds the edges.
- Swap: White sugar in place of palm sugar. It works. White sugar gives only sweetness. Palm sugar also gives caramel notes. In a sauce this sour and salty, the difference is small.
aromatics
Shallot, sliced thin, and spring onion, sliced
Give a raw onion bite. The shallot softens in the salt and acid and adds liquid to the sauce.
herbs
Coriander leaf
Gives a fresh green top note.
The basic method
7- Toast the raw sticky rice in a dry pan on medium heat until it is deep gold and smells nutty. Shake the pan all the time.
- Pound the rice to a coarse powder. Do not make it fine.
- Toast the dried chillies in the same dry pan until they are dark red. Do not let them go black. Pound them to coarse flakes.
- Stir the sugar into the fish sauce until it dissolves. Then add the lime juice.
- Add the chilli flakes, the rice powder, the shallot, the fresh chilli and the spring onion. Stir.
- Leave the sauce for 5 minutes. Then taste it. Add lime juice for sour or fish sauce for salt.
- Stir in the coriander just before you serve. Make the sauce no more than 1 hour ahead.
What the full recipe adds
The full recipe gives exact amounts for a doubled batch, which is enough for one grilled chicken. It explains why the two chillies do different jobs: toasting browns the dried chilli and makes roasted flavour compounds, but it does not remove the heat. The fresh chilli keeps its green, sharp heat. It explains why the sugar goes into the fish sauce first: palm sugar dissolves poorly once acid is present. It explains why the sauce looks dry at first and loosens during the rest: salt and acid pull water from the shallot while the rice powder takes liquid up. It also says why the sauce does not keep: the lime aroma degrades and the herbs wilt.
Variations
2A variation is the same dish taken a different way. Each one keeps its own versions, and none of them replaces another. The first is the dish the rest came from.
Nam Jim Jaew 1 version
The dish the others came from.
Nam Jim Jaew, Carolina reaper 1 version You are here
With raw deveined Carolina reaper on top of the bird's eye