Fish sauce
Fish sauce is a clear, salty seasoning made by maturing fish with salt and drawing off the liquid. The broad family includes distinct regional sauces rather than one interchangeable method.
Lao-style roasted tomato jeow
Roasted tomatoes, shallots, garlic and chillies are pounded into a coarse Lao-style dip, then seasoned with fish sauce, optional lime and coriander.
Jeow mak len and this measured version
Jeow, also written jaew, names a family of Lao dips rather than one standard sauce. Jeow mak len is the tomato member: roasted tomatoes and aromatics are pounded into a seasoned dip. Lao cook Saeng Douangdara describes serving it with sticky rice and grilled chicken, and her recipe combines padaek with fish sauce, then finishes with cilantro.
The measured formula here is its own development. It uses 250 g tomatoes, 70 g shallots, 20 g garlic, 15 g chillies, 25 g fish sauce, optional lime juice and coriander. Its weights are independent of Saeng's recipe, and its base uses fish sauce without padaek. It should be read as a modern adaptation in the style of jeow mak len, not as a transcription or a universal Lao household formula.
Sources for this section
Roast, then pound
Roasting or grilling softens the tomatoes, shallots, garlic and chillies while leaving charred patches. Keep the garlic cloves in their skins for roasting, then peel them once they have softened. Remove any badly burnt skin; the aim is patches of char, not an entirely blackened relish.
Pound or pulse the vegetables only until they form a coarse mixture. A smooth purée loses the uneven texture associated with pounded jeow. Add the measured fish sauce, optional lime juice and chopped coriander after pounding. The supplied formula gives no cooking temperature or separate roasting time; the total preparation estimate is 25–35 minutes.
Sources for this section
Seasoning and variation
Fish sauce is the only fish seasoning in this measured base. Saeng's version also uses padaek, a Lao preserved fish sauce, alongside clear fish sauce, plus MSG and cilantro. That source-specific combination is useful context but is not part of this formula's fixed ingredient list. Adding padaek would make a different variation; follow the ready-to-eat product's label and reduce the fish sauce accordingly.
Tomato size and water content vary. Saeng notes that larger, juicier tomatoes release more liquid than cherry tomatoes and may need draining after roasting. This batch uses a stated weight of tomatoes but does not specify a variety. The optional lime adds another sour note; no measurement establishes a preservation effect.
Sources for this section
Serving and handling
Serve the dip with sticky rice or grilled food. The roasted base freezes better without fresh coriander; freeze it before adding the herb, then add fresh chopped leaves after thawing.
This development formula has not been kitchen-tested or assessed for storage. Cool it promptly, refrigerate it for short-term use, or freeze portions. The source archive's 48-hour refrigerated window is a planning convention, not a measured shelf life for jeow. Do not can it or keep it at room temperature. Fish sauce is a fish allergen; check its label for other ingredients and allergen information.
Sources for this section
History
This is an original measured development formula. It borrows roasted-aromatic and pounded-texture cues from a documented Lao jeow mak len recipe, while setting independent ingredient weights and using fish sauce rather than padaek in its base.
Ingredients
Scaling: source batch only
250 g
70 g
GarlicLeave the cloves in their skins for roasting.
20 g
Chillies
15 g
Adjust the variety and amount to the heat desired; the source formula does not specify a variety.25 g
Lime juice (optional)
10 g
Optional.Coriander (fresh leaves and tender stems)Chop.
10 g
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Untested storage and preservation
This original development formula has not been kitchen-tested or assessed for shelf life; roasting does not establish a shelf-stable product.
Hazard sourceCool promptly, refrigerate for short-term use or freeze portions; do not can or store at room temperature.
Control sourceThe report's 48-hour refrigerated window is a planning convention, not a measured shelf life for this formula. No room-temperature storage or home-canning process is supported.
Contains fish from the fish sauce; check the product label for additional allergens.
- Roast or grill 250 g tomatoes, 70 g shallot, 20 g garlic cloves left in their skins and 15 g chillies until softened and charred in patches. The archive gives no cooking temperature or separate roasting time.
- Peel the garlic and remove any badly burnt skins from the vegetables.
- Pound or pulse the roasted vegetables to a coarse relish; do not purée them smooth.
- Stir in 25 g fish sauce, 10 g lime juice if using it, and 10 g chopped fresh coriander.
- Serve with sticky rice or grilled food.
- Cool promptly. Refrigerate for short-term use or freeze the roasted base without the fresh coriander; add the coriander after thawing.
Conditions
Temperature0–5°C
Temperature controlRefrigerated
Places
Laos
Modern adaptation · Country evidenceA measured adaptation in the style of Lao jeow mak len; the country association does not claim a precise birthplace or traditional authorship for these independent weights.
Related
Made from
Variants
Charcoal-roasted tomato jeow
A Lao tomato-and-chile dip made by roasting tomatoes, chiles, garlic and shallots over gentle coals, then pounding and seasoning them. This four-person serving batch has no measured ingredient quantities or validated storage period.
Equipment
Mortar and pestle
A mortar and pestle pairs a hollow bowl with a hand-held striker; Lao kitchens and Malay and Singaporean sambal traditions show how pounding shapes sauces and spice pastes.
More from Laos
Jeow bong
Jeow bong is a Lao paste of dried chilli, shallot, garlic and galangal cooked with buffalo or cow skin, a Luang Prabang specialty eaten with sticky rice and grilled meat.
Padaek
Padaek is a Lao salt-fermented freshwater fish paste used as a seasoning and preserved food. This record covers documented uses and safety gaps; it does not offer an unvalidated home method.
Sticky-rice baguette for khao jee pâté (Saeng's Kitchen version)
This four-baguette sticky-rice dough is the bread component of Saeng Douangdara’s khao jee pâté recipe. She presents the sticky-rice addition as her own variation; it is not a universal or traditional Lao baguette formula.
Related in the family
Ajvar
Ajvar is a cooked Balkan pepper preserve built around roasted red peppers, peeled, drained, ground and slowly fried with oil and seasoning. Leskovac’s protected version is a pepper specialty; regional versions vary.
Amlou
Amlou is a nutty, lightly sweet Moroccan spread of roasted almonds, culinary argan oil and honey. The almonds are ground first, then loosened with oil and sweetened; the balance can range from a thick spread to a dip.
Apple sauce for goose and pork
Apple sauce for goose and pork is a plain English accompaniment: cooked apples pulped with water, then sweetened with sugar and finished with a little butter.
Bagna cauda
A warm dip of garlic, anchovy and olive oil, often enriched with butter, that Piedmont serves over a flame with raw and cooked vegetables and bread.
Banana ketchup in a Filipino-inspired direction
A sweet-hot table sauce of ripe banana simmered with vinegar, sugar, onion, garlic and fresh chilli, in the manner of Philippine banana ketchup. An untested development batch of about 500 g.
Bazhe (walnut sauce base)
A Georgian walnut sauce of ground walnuts, garlic, vinegar and spices, thinned with water or broth. It is served with poultry, vegetables and bread, and is the sauce of the dish satsivi.
Butterscotch sauce
A pourable dessert sauce of brown sugar, butter and cream, with a little corn syrup and salt. It is the sauce form of the butterscotch confection and is made without water, unlike caramel.
Byzantine murrī
Byzantine murrī is a cooked imitation of murrī from the medieval Arabic repertoire, made from scorched honey, toasted bread, walnuts, quince, carob and spices rather than from a long grain fermentation.
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Sources
Saeng's Kitchen; Saeng DouangdaraCulinary context · Method · Geography
Jeow Mak Len | Lao Tomato Dipping SauceDocuments one Lao jeow mak len with roasted tomatoes, shallots, garlic and chillies, pounded to a textured dip and seasoned with padaek, fish sauce, MSG and cilantro.
Pairs the dip with sticky rice; describes variation by tomato moisture and fish-sauce saltiness.
This source's formula is distinct from the independently weighted fish-sauce-based development formula in the supplied archive.
Cited in: Jeow mak len and this measured version; Roast, then pound; Seasoning and variation
Food Standards Agency, GOV.UKHandling · Safety
How to chill, freeze and defrost food safelyGeneral guidance says to cool cooked food promptly, refrigerate it within one to two hours, keep the refrigerator between 0 and 5°C, and eat leftovers within 48 hours or freeze; it does not test this recipe.
Cited in: Serving and handling
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationAllergen safety
Food Allergies: What You Need to KnowFish is identified as a major food allergen.
Cited in: Serving and handling