This delightful Thai dipping sauce, Nam Jim Jaew, is a fantastic choice for grilled meats or as a zesty salad dressing, and it can be made without sugar by substituting honey! Whipping up this easy recipe is a breeze. You'll need tamarind, fish sauce, lime juice, shallots, fresh cilantro, chili flakes, and some toasted rice powder to give it that authentic crunch. Enjoy the vibrant flavors of this versatile sauce!
Having grown up savoring the classic Nam Jim Jaew, I know that a dash of sweetness is key to balancing its bold flavors. This sugar-free version swaps in honey for a hint of natural sweetness, giving you that luscious texture without the guilt. With tamarind, fish sauce, lime, and toasted rice powder, this sauce brings the true Issan flavors right to your table.
With years of experience crafting Thai sauces, I’ve perfected this recipe to keep the traditional tang of Nam Jim Jaew while offering a healthier twist. Replacing sugar with honey adds a thick, smooth mouthfeel that complements the tamarind and lime zest. Whether you’re pairing it with grilled meats or drizzling it over salad, this sauce brings a satisfying richness without any refined sugars.
To compliment Nam Jim Jaew sauce, make the best-crying tiger recipe to pair with it. Then be sure to read how to make purple sticky rice and Lao green papaya salad recipe to make it a complete meal!
Jump to:
What is Nam Jim Jaew?
Nam Jim Jaew is a spicy Thai dipping sauce with chili flakes, tamarind paste, lime juice, shallot, garlic, cilantro, and a sweeter choice. This sweet chili sauce is incomplete until the sticky rice powder is added at the end for the extra crunchy earthly flavors.
Make my Thai sweet chili sauce with your favorite summer grilling food for another delicious sauce.
Why you'll love Nam Jim Jaew
- This healthy Nam Jim Jaew recipe uses honey instead of sugar so that you can enjoy it guilt-free!
- Using honey in the Nam Jim Jaew recipe is much healthier because many traditional recipes typically use processed white sugar, palm sugar, or brown sugar.
- Nam Jim Jaew's recipe is a perfect sauce for all types of meat, seafood, or poultry and can be used on grilled, baked, or roasted meats. This sauce is a perfect balance of tangy, sweet, and sour. It is the best dipping chili sauce at any dinner party or BBQ.
- It is one of the best Thai sauces to use for EVERYTHING. Try dipping it with fresh vegetables, rolled-up glutinous rice, or as a salad dressing.
- This recipe is quick and easy to assemble, and the ingredients are easy to find. The sauce can be ready to serve in about 15-20 minutes.
- Nam Jim Jaew sauce is also great for a healthy salad dressing over steamed or roasted vegetables. Essentially, there's no limit to how Nam Jim Jaew can be used.
Nam Jim Jaew Ingredients
To make the perfect Nam Jim Jaew sauce using honey, you'll need a few simple ingredients to put it together. Below is a photo of all the key ingredients to make this delicious Thai condiment.
- Roasted rice powder: Toasted rice powder, or Khao Kua, is the key ingredient for making Nam Jim Jeaw. Don't omit this special ingredient as it is very important. I have a very easy toasted rice powder recipe for you to follow below. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to make your toasted rice powder. Toasted rice powder, Khao Khua.
- Fish sauce: the quality of the fish sauce for this recipe matters very much. I used the Three Crab brand fish sauce. This brand is less salty and pungent than the other brands I've used when cooking Thai food. It's a great fish sauce for dipping sauces like Nam Jim Jaew. Suppose you can't find the Three Crabs brand fish sauce in your local Asian grocery stores. Substitute it with another fish sauce brand, The Red Boat or Megachef. The Squid brand fish sauce is slightly too strong for the dipping sauce. Soy sauce is not recommended for substitution.
- Honey: My Nam Jim Jaew recipe uses honey instead of sugar. Use your local honey if possible. If you have seasonal allergies like me, local honey is key to combatting pesky sensitivity to pollen and irritants.
- Lime juice is also important for this recipe. It adds the sourness that adds that layer of flavors to Nam Jim Jaew. See the picture for what to look for when you go to the Asian market to buy tamarind.
- I have two very helpful blog posts on what tamarind is, as well as how to make your tamarind sauce at home. Follow these links to read up on it. What is tamarind? How to make your tamarind sauce.
- Green onion or spring onion. The white stems and leafy part.
- Cilantro or fresh coriander.
- Dried Chili flakes. The spicy flavors come from the chili flakes. Chili powder could work, but the texture will be better than flakes. Fresh red chilies can be used for this recipe, too.
- Tamarind concentrate: Sometimes are labeled tamarind pulp, sauce, or concentrate. It adds a sweet and tangy taste to the sauce.
How to make Nam Jim Jaew Sauce with Honey
Making Nam Jim Jaew is quick and easy. Below are the step-by-step instructions, in photos, to help you put this amazing Thai chili dipping sauce together in no time.
Step 1. Start with uncooked rice. On medium-low heat on the stovetop, toast the uncooked rice in a dry pan until the rice is golden brown. Be careful with the heat level for this step, as the rice tends to cook fast after it browns. Let the rice cool to room temperature. Use a spice grinder to grind the rice into a coarse powder. Set aside for a minute—more detailed instructions on how to make Toasted rice powder.
Step 2. Finely chop all the fresh herbs and place them in a small bowl.
Step 3. Warm the honey in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until it turns runny. Let cool, then pour the honey into the bowl with fresh herbs. Stir well.
Step 4. Add fish sauce, lime juice, water, tamarind puree, and chili flakes.
Step 5. Stir everything, taste, and adjust the flavor with lime juice, fish sauce, or water.
Step 6. Lastly, add the star ingredient and the toasted rice powder, and mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoon of water if the sauce is too thick.
Step 7. Place the sauce in a serving cup, and that's it. So quick and easy and so delicious! Enjoy!
Nam Jim Jaew Recipe Tips
- You can also use fresh Thai chilis but cut them into small pieces.
- These brands of fish sauce are great for this recipe. My favorites are Three Crabs, Red Boat, and Megachef (a lesser-known fish sauce). They are light and sweet and perfectly balance salty and umami flavors.
- If you have extra rice powder, store it in an airtight container and keep it in the freezer. The freezer keeps it fresh for months at a time!
- Use Nam Jim Jaeow to dip bland sticky rice, vegetables, meat, or salads. It's perfect for everything!
How to serve Nam Jim Jaeow
Dishes that pair well with Nam Jim Jaeow are Sticky rice (made with bamboo basket steamer), Thai grilled pork spare ribs, Moo ping, Gai Yang (Thai BBQ chicken), crispy pork belly, Thai-style pork ribs, Pieng seen Naam Tok (beef waterfall). Or serve Nam Jim sauce with Thai sticky rice and jasmine rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
This Thai dipping sauce has all the flavors that Thai cuisine is known for: sweet, sour, salty, spicy, and umami. The toasted rice powder adds a nutty, toasted flavor with a slight crunch. The flavor of this sauce is like an explosion in your mouth that will surely bring you back to the Isaan region of Thailand, where this sauce is frequently used in all of the Isaan cuisines.
Like all food, fresh is best. Nam Jim Jaew will stay in the fridge for 3-4 days. The rice powder will expand and get soggy in the sauce the longer it sits in the fridge. If you don't like that, try to use it more quickly.
Nam Jim in Thai means a chili dipping sauce. The literal translation in Thai goes like this. Nam = water, Jim = dipping, dip, or dip (into something). So, in the case of Nam Jim, it means dipping water (liquid or sauce).
Nam Jim and Nam Phrik refer to a spicy Thai dipping sauce with various ingredients. The common ingredient in both is the Thai chilis, dry or fresh, used for making the sauce spicy. Nam Prik is typically drier with minimal liquid, while Nam Jim is saucier, using a mixture of fish sauce, lime or tamarind juice, and water. Both are popular with Thai people.
Nam Prik, in Thai, means a spicy sauce or condiment to use as a dipping sauce with food. Nam means water, and Prik means chili, so chili is watery (sauce). The most basic Nam Prik in the Nam Pla Phrik is a popular spicy sauce that adds flavor and heat to any dish. You can almost always find this sauce in most Thai restaurants, cafes, and stalls throughout Thailand.
More Delicious Thai Recipes You'll Love
- Khao Khua
- Chili dipping sauce
- Nam Tok
- Moo Ping
- Rice in Thai cooking
- Lao Green Papaya salad recipe
- Sweet Thai chili sauce or Nam Jim Gai
** Love a recipe you've tried? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and a review in the comments section further down the page. Or follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Instagram! **
Print
No Sugar Nam Jim Jaew Sauce
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
The Thai dipping sauce Nam Jim Jaew recipe (without sugar) is a popular Thai dipping sauce used for grilled meats or as a dressing for salads. This Nam Jim Jaew recipe without sugar is easy to make, using tamarind, fish sauce, lime juice, shallots, cilantro, chili flakes, and toasted rice powder.
Ingredients
- 2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup cilantro chopped small
- ¼ cup shallot, thinly sliced
- 3 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 ½ tablespoons lime juice, freshly squeezed
- 4 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate
- ¼ cup toasted rice powder
- 1-3 tablespoons dried chili flakes (as needed)
- 1-2 tablespoons water (as needed)
Instructions
- Start with uncooked rice. On medium-low heat on the stovetop, toast the uncooked rice in a dry pan until the rice is golden brown. Be careful with the heat level for this step, as the rice tends to cook fast after it browns. Let the rice cool to room temperature. Use a spice grinder to grind the rice into a coarse powder. Set aside for a minute—more detailed instructions on how to make Toasted rice powder.
- Finely chop all the fresh herbs and place them in a small bowl.
- Warm the honey in the microwave for 20-30 seconds until it turns runny. Let cool, then pour the honey into the bowl with fresh herbs. Stir well.
- Add fish sauce, lime juice, water, tamarind puree, and chili flakes.
- Stir everything, taste, and adjust the flavor with lime juice, fish sauce, or water.
- Lastly, add the star ingredient and the toasted rice powder, and mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Add 1-2 tablespoon of water if the sauce is too thick.
- Place the sauce in a serving cup, and that's it. So quick and easy and so delicious! Enjoy!
Notes
- You can also use fresh Thai chilis but cut them into small pieces.
- These brands of fish sauce are great for this recipe. My favorites are Three Crabs, Red Boat, and Megachef (a lesser-known fish sauce). They are light and sweet and perfectly balance salty and umami flavors.
- If you have extra rice powder, store it in an airtight container and keep it in the freezer. The freezer keeps it fresh for months at a time!
- Use Nam Jim Jaeow to dip bland sticky rice, vegetables, meat, or salads. It's perfect for everything!
** Thank you so much for visiting my blog! This is truly a passion for me. If you have enjoyed these recipes and appreciate the hard work I put into them, I would love it if you would share them with your friends! Your recommendation is the highest review I could hope for, and I’d appreciate it! **
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Sauces
- Method: No Stove top
- Cuisine: Thai
Lindsay says
Incredible sauce! Love it that's its with honey, I feel better aboutbit then using white sugar. Will be making this on a regular basis.
Marku says
Love it love it love it!
Madeline says
My new favorite sauce, going to live off of this for a while. Lol Love the honey variation so much too.
Suwanee says
Haha, funny but happy to hear, Michael!
Michael D. says
I’m ruined for life! This was my absolute favorite Thai sauce. I made it extra spicy and eat it with steak and rice and dip my spring rolls with it. Perfect on everything!
Bethany B says
Oh my goodness!! What did I just eat & why haven’t I had this before!! I’m completely obsessed with the flavors!! Thank you!! ❤️
Bill Larsen says
This recipe is outstanding! Tasty, authentic and one to repeat. Thanks for putting tougher such an informative post. We love your recipes Suwanee!
Suwanee says
Thank you so much, Jessica! So happy you love it so much. (:
Jessica says
Deliciously addictive! I put it on just about everything now that I have this recipe 🤤
Mindy says
Deliciously addictive! I put it on just about everything now that I have this recipe 🤤
Suwanee says
Fantastic, RosaMango! I'm so happy to hear it! So glad you found some tamarind at the Mexican store too. It makes such a huge difference. (:
RosaMango says
I've tried a few recipes but this one, this one is a keeper!!!! I had all ingredients on hand except tamarind but luckily the Mexican grocery store around the corner from me carries dried tamarind in bulk! Simple and ridiculously bright and delicious. Thank you for sharing!
Will Dykstra says
What's the cost?
Lily M says
Absolutely loved this sauce recipe. It’s great on so many things! For the toasted rice powder I used roasted brown rice tea (from a Korean supermarket—literally just rice no tea leaves) and ground it in a spice grinder. Was so tasty!
Jennifer says
I like all your recipes! And what’s a big coincidence is that I’m Laos and my middle name is Suwanee (spelled same way) because my grandpa thought the city I was born in had a beautiful name. Please keep the the recipes coming!! I also love all the photos!