Thai Fried Rice Cakes with Green Chile Nam Prik

About This Recipe

Thai street vendors have long turned leftover sticky or jasmine rice into crisp fried cakes, pressed thin and pan-fried until the surface crackles while the inside stays chewy. Served alongside nam prik, a pounded green chile sauce with garlic, lime, and fish sauce, these rice cakes are a common bazaar and market snack, eaten as-is or alongside grilled meats. The key technique is pressing cooked rice while it's still warm and slightly sticky so the cakes hold together during frying -- day-old rice that's dried out too much will crumble apart in the pan. A hot, well-oiled skillet and patience (resisting the urge to flip too early) gives the deep golden crust that makes these worth eating. The nam prik is pounded, not blended, in a mortar and pestle by traditional cooks, which keeps some texture rather than turning it into a smooth paste -- the sauce should still have visible flecks of chile and garlic. Together, the crisp rice cakes and sharp, funky sauce make an addictive, humble snack.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 3 cupscooked jasmine rice(day-old, slightly sticky)
• 2eggs(beaten)
• 2 tbsprice flour
• 0.25 cupneutral oil(for frying)
• 4green Thai chiles(chopped)
• 4 clovesgarlic(chopped)
• 2 tbspfish sauce
• 2 tbsplime juice
• 1 tsppalm sugar
• 2 tbspcilantro(chopped)

Instructions

1. 1

   Mix the rice cakes

   In a bowl, combine rice, beaten eggs, and rice flour, mashing lightly with a spoon until the mixture holds together when pressed.

2. 2

   Shape the cakes

   Form into 8 patties about 1cm thick, pressing firmly so they hold their shape.

3. 3

   Fry until crisp

   Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high. Fry rice cakes 3-4 minutes per side, without moving them, until deeply golden and crisp on the surface.

4. 4

   Pound the nam prik

   While the cakes fry, pound chiles and garlic in a mortar and pestle (or pulse briefly in a food processor) until roughly crushed, not smooth.

5. 5

   Season the sauce

   Stir fish sauce, lime juice, and palm sugar into the pounded chile-garlic mixture until the sugar dissolves. Taste and adjust sourness or saltiness.

6. 6

   Serve

   Drain rice cakes on a rack, plate with the nam prik alongside for dipping, and scatter with cilantro.

Variations

• •

  Add finely chopped shallot to the rice mixture for extra flavor.

• •

  Top the fried cakes with a fried egg for a heartier snack.

• •

  Swap green chiles for red for a milder, sweeter nam prik.

Storage

Rice cakes are best fresh and crisp; refrigerate up to 2 days and reheat in a dry skillet to recrisp, not the microwave. Nam prik keeps refrigerated up to 4 days in a sealed jar.

Frequently Asked Questions