How to make Thai nam sausage the natural way (naem)

Nam sausage 
There is really no nice description that does justice to this popular Thai snack.
It's a taste experience relished all over Thailand, but hard to explain to foreigners and the uninitiated. Nam is so popular in Thailand, it even has its own facebook pages. http://bit.ly/d5LjEN
Mine looks a bit different to theirs, because it's fresh and natural.

In the West our sausages are meaty and fresh, or smoky and dried, or heavy and fatty like mortadella or bolgna.
This is not one of those type of sausages.
The 'nam' sausage is a Thai staple, spicy, flavoursome, with a tang and some personality.
If you are about to kiss passionately, choose chocolate truffles instead of nam. But if you are going to drink, eat and be merry, have some fermented sausage on hand. It's great with a beer or four, and can also be added to soups, or made into a wicked Thai salad that gives you a moreish taste memory.


Nam is easy to grab hold of in Thailand, both literally and figuratively.
Just walk into any 7-11 from Chiang Rai to Hat Yai, and choose from 10 different brands. In all supermarkets there's a staggering display to stand confused in front of.
Street vendors sell it grilled, barbecued on sticks, deep fried or tossed with ginger root and toasted peanuts. The list goes on. 
It's made with pork, but if you don't eat pork, it can be easily be replicated made with lean red meat also. In Australia I made a great Kangaroo nam with zero fat and an impressive flavour and texture.


Nam is basically a 'sour fermented pork sausage'.
There. I said it. Sounds horrible doesn't it? It always puts people off.
Fermented! Like.......... like wine, beer, bread, pickles, yoghurt, sauerkraut, tabasco, vanilla beans, prosciutto, serrano ham, olives, cheese and all those other disgusting things that we would never eat because it's gone sour and full of bacteria!


Nam is awesome!
In the West it's not so common, but we can whip into the Asian shop, pick up a packet of Lobo 'nam powder' - and make our own. Fantastic.
Nothing like grabbing a pack of powdered enzymes, additive numbers and food enhancers and mixing it through raw meat. You can of course - I used to do it myself. It tastes good, and Hell, we eat additives every day in the West in almost everything we consume. 
But why not do it the easy natural way if we have the know-how?


The traditional Thai method is actually cheaper, easier and far superior in flavour than the lab export. Before starting, you need to make sure that:

• The work area and bowl/utensils are scrupulously clean
• The pork or other meat is very fresh
• You wash your hands well - and wear gloves when mixing
• The meat should be chilled and temperature controlled up until you use it

Ingredients

• Lean freshly ground pork (never frozen). Better to get a piece of pork, then chop it or mince yourself.
• Cooked white sticky rice
• Garlic, fresh cloves
• Thai chilli, whole - not cut
• Salt flakes - kosher, Maldon, etc. Must be a pure salt - not table salt
• MSG if you dare. If not, read this in horror and say out "loud AAAAARRRRRGHHHHHHHH!" loudly and ignore
• Pork skin (yes, skin!) - slice into small strips and simmer in water until not quite soft, about 5-10 minutes. Do not cook too much or it will disintegrate and go gluey!

You will also need:

• banana leaves - or clean plastic bags
• rubber bands, or string, or - something to tie it up with.
• larger plastic bags to protect the individual nams as they ferment

First crush the garlic. Remove the skins, wash, then chop roughly

Grab some fresh cooked white sticky rice, and rinse it in some water so the grains separate. You basically give it a 5 second wash, and drain off the water.

Add the sticky rice and the crushed garlic to the chilled pork mince, and mix in the chilled sliced cooked pork skin. Crush the salt flakes slightly, but not too much. Don't use iodised table salt.

      


If you need more background on nam (and anything else in the Thai repertoire for the last 4 centuries) get the book "Thai Food" by David Thompson.
It's in English, and it's a masterpiece that comes bound in Thai silk. Food porn at its best ;-)
I learned this version the best way though - by watching Mum and Dad.
Add the salt flakes to the mix, and give it a stir.
Grab a pair of gloves and start to knead it well to mix the cooked sticky rice and the salt into the pork and garlic. The sticky rice is what will start the fermentation process, and the salt will control it to a certain extent.

You'll need a couple of sturdy priks. Relax. "Prik" is the Thai word for chilli.

Choose your chillies according to your taste. The standard is the normal Thai birdseye chilli, about 4-5cm long (1.5 to 2 inches). If you are brave or silly, you could use 'scuds' - the miniature chillies that burn their way through you like battery acid. If you have a death wish, experiment with habanero chilli :-)

Important: DO NOT chop the chilli. Keep them whole. Just pick off the stem and the green bit at the end, like in the photo.

Next, the packaging. It's all about the packaging. Over here we use banana leaves, but you don't need to if they are not available. It is OK to use plastic bags, but they have to be new ones, and very clean.

Rubber bands are handy too, as we need to keep these 'nam' sausages nice and tight so they hold together.

Lay the nam inside the banana leaf, or spoon it into the clean plastic bag. Don't be too worried about technique. We just want to wrap it up, and then squeeze it, tie it, or press it nice and tight for 24-48 hours.

I think my nam looks pretty sexy, but I'm biased. This one is wrapped with thin 'strings' cut off wild bamboo with a sharp knife, but I'm showing off. I made some with plastic bags too, just so you don't feel insecure.

The important thing is to make sure that they are quite tight. You know when you get stressed out and wrap rubber bands around your finger again and again until the end turns blue?
Well after you roll it in the plastic bag, do that 3 times. Once on each end and once in the centre, and you end up with a tight, firmly bound sausage that doesn't fall apart in your hand. ? That didn't sound right. Never mind.
If you are going to use it for salads or barbecue, that doesn't matter so much. The quality won't be affected - only the 'solidity'. and 'firmness. :-)

VERY important: Now put your wrapped nam packages into a fresh plastic bag, twist it well, and seal it with rubber bands, twist ties or something so that flies and pests can't get in.
We are going to do what the cheese and yoghurt makers do, and leave it at room temperature for 1-2 days to ferment, so we don't want any bugs laying eggs or trying to eat it. Not even the edible kind!

here's a pretty poor quality photograph of one I prepared earlier.
It takes 1-2 days to ferment, and after that we keep it in the fridge.
1 day is slightly sour, 2 days more so. It's delicious.
You can eat it plain, or slice it and serve it with roasted peanuts (no skin) and some thin slices of peeled young ginger root. Try it with a few cold beers.It keeps in the fridge for up to a week.
Natural, no preservatives. I'm lovin' it!

Don't eat pork?
I have made this successfully with lean beef, and also with kangaroo meat. Both were excellent. The texture was softer and colour was deep red and unusual, but no issues. Taste was fantastic.
And - why the ugly pork skin?
It gives a great textural contrast - just try it. If you are too scared the first time, then it can be made without.