The Seepweed Leaf Chili Paste

Herbaceous seepweed is an annual plant usually found in plain and high-salt land in Samutsakorn Province. The appearance of leaf is single leaf, crowded leaf, stemless, 1-6 cm long, water-plump and green or purple-green color. Its leaf is taken to cook, because it’s salty, as yellow curry and salad. It is not well-known among people so “Min” Miss Siwaporn Sueparn, 4th year student from Department of Food and Nutrition in the Faculty of Home Economics Technology of Rajamangala Unviersity of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) would like to introduce seepweed as “seepweed leaf chili paste” – Assist. Prof. Suchada Ngamprapawat is the advisor.

Min said that chili paste is very popular. It is often included in many foods such as Tom-Yum-Goong, Shrimp salad together with desserts like topping for bread so seepweed leaf chili paste is made up. The benefit of its leaves is saltiness. Its appearance is like Cha-om but no strong odor. The seepweed leaf chili paste is the new taste and can be another choice for chili paste lovers; besides it has more nutrients than normal chili paste, and it’s also free from chemical and contaminating substances.

The ingredients consist of red onion, garlic, dried shrimp, palm sugar, tamarind juice, shrimp paste, oil, dried chili and seepweed leaves. Now let’s know how to make it. First, clean seepweed leaves and mince them well then slice garlic and red onion. And remove seeds from dried chili then chop it. After that fry garlic, red onion, dried shrimp and dried chili until they get crispy. Then pound the fried stuffs and seepweed leaves together. Next put shrimp paste to pound together again. Finally, prepare the paste ingredients, palm sugar, tamarind juice and oil for paste stir-fry, and put oil into the pan, use medium fire, and stir-fry pounded paste.

Stir-fry for a while then put palm sugar and tamarind juice, and then fry till they get dry. Serve with vegetables. Seepweed leaves can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 weeks. It is not sold in the market. If someone want to try it, just follow the recipe above. For more details, please contact Nong Min at 08-6508-9315.

Translated by Mr. Amondech Inkaew