Jeow Bong (Lao Chili Jam Relish)

About This Recipe

Jeow bong is arguably the most important condiment in Lao cuisine — a sticky, deeply flavored roasted chili and shallot jam with a complexity that belies its simple ingredient list. The base is dried buffalo or pork skin (khep moo), toasted galangal, shallots, and garlic all charred directly over flame or under a broiler, then pounded with dried chilies, fish sauce, and palm sugar into a paste that straddles jam and condiment. The buffalo skin dissolves during pounding into a sticky, collagen-rich matrix that binds the other flavors into something deeply savory and mildly sweet. Jeow bong appears on every Lao table as a dipping sauce for raw vegetables and sticky rice, as a spread for grilled meats, and as a seasoning base for stir-fries. Without jeow bong, a Lao meal feels incomplete — it is as essential as nam pla (fish sauce) to Thai cooking or nuoc cham to Vietnamese.

Ingredients

Serves 10

• 8dried red chilies (moderate heat variety)
• 6shallots, unpeeled
• 4 clovesgarlic, unpeeled
• 3 cmfresh galangal, unpeeled
• 30 gdried pork skin or crispy pork rinds (khep moo), ground to a powder
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 1 tbsppalm sugar
• 1 tsppadaek (Lao fermented fish paste) or extra fish sauce
• 2 tbspneutral oil

Instructions

1. 1

   Char the aromatics

   Place unpeeled shallots, garlic, and galangal directly on a gas flame or under a broiler. Char until the skins are deeply blackened and the insides are soft, turning occasionally, about 10-15 minutes. Let cool then peel.

2. 2

   Toast the dried chilies

   In a dry pan, toast dried chilies over medium heat, turning frequently, until fragrant and slightly darkened, about 3 minutes. Remove stems and roughly break them up.

3. 3

   Pound the paste

   In a stone mortar, pound toasted chilies first until a rough powder forms. Add charred shallots, garlic, and galangal. Pound until a rough paste forms.

   Jeow bong should have texture — it is a relish, not a smooth sauce.

4. 4

   Add pork skin

   Add powdered pork skin and pound to incorporate.

5. 5

   Season and fry

   Add fish sauce, palm sugar, and padaek. Mix well. Heat oil in a small pan and fry the paste 5-8 minutes, stirring, until it darkens slightly and becomes fragrant and jammy.

6. 6

   Cool and store

   Transfer to a sterilized jar. The jeow bong is ready to eat immediately but deepens in flavor after 1-2 days.

Variations

• •

  Vegan jeow bong: replace pork skin with toasted cashews ground to a powder, and replace padaek with miso paste.

• •

  Jeow bong het (mushroom version): add dried shiitake mushrooms alongside the chilies for more depth.

Storage

Keeps refrigerated in a sealed jar up to 2 weeks. The flavor deepens significantly over the first 48 hours. Can be frozen up to 2 months.

Frequently Asked Questions