Variations: 3 Ways to Jazz Up Your Yum Dressing
Though the basic dressing works on everything, sometimes you might want to try something a little different. Here are 3 common ways we change up the basic dressing:
Jazz #1: Replace some of the palm sugar with Thai chili paste.
The basic dressing is quite light, so if you want a richer dressing, adding Thai chili paste is the way to go. Aside from richness, it also adds a lovely and a unique flavour. You can add more or less Thai chili paste, but remember that chili paste is sweet, so the more you add, the less sugar you need. Different brands of chili pastes are not equally sweet, so some tasting and adjusting is needed here.
Jazz #2: In addition to the chili paste, you can also add coconut milk.
This makes for a creamier dressing with a wonderful coconut flavour. Note that coconut milk is typically added in addition to chili paste, although you can try adding only coconut milk to the basic dressing if you wish – I don’t think it would be bad!
Jazz #3: For those who loves funky flavours, replace some of the fish sauce with thank you or shrimp paste.
Please is a type of fermented fish sauce that’s different from your regular fish sauce in that it is made from freshwater fish instead of anchovies, and it is much thicker as it has a lot of the fish bits dissolved into the sauce. It has a funky flavour that some people cannot live without, and it’s packed with umami. I love a thank you dressing because it feels more full-bodied. You can add as much or as little as you want depending on the level of funk you desire, but the more you use, the less fish sauce you’ll need as they are both salty.
Fermented shrimp paste (speech) is also a salty, funky ingredient, but it has a very different aroma. I personally prefer a thank you dressing than one made with shrimp paste, but it is here for you as an option. Though if you’ve have never had shrimp paste before, putting it into a salad is not how I would suggest trying it the first time! I’d probably go with shrimp paste fried rice as a first.
You can substitute plara for fish sauce at a 1:1 ratio. For shrimp paste, I would add just 1 teaspoon to the basic dressing, and reduce fish sauce to 1 ½ Tablespoons. Tasting and adjusting is important here once again as different brands are not equally salty.
*This is the plara I like (not sponsored) but you can also get this pla ra from Amazon which I’ve never had but heard good things about it. Rule of thumb for buying pla ra: modern brands with herbs and seasonings added tend to be more beginner-friendly. If the packaging looks old school and very “authentic,” and the ingredients look simple, it tends to be quite intense and these must be used with caution!
