Lohn หลน is a category of Thai dips that is very little-known outside of Thailand, and it was requested by one of my Patreon members! Lohn refers to a creamy coconut milk based dip that I absolutely love, and being the only type of not-spicy Thai dips, it was the very first dip I tried as a kid. You'll impress guests with your knowledge of obscure Thai food, and it is one of the easiest Thai recipes you'll ever make!
The lohn recipe I'm sharing here is the most classic version called lohn tao jiew, and tao jiew is fermented soybean paste, similar to miso paste, but much runnier. This recipe here is made with pork, but you can make it with ground chicken, and also ground shrimp is a very common protein to use as well. (I'll share in the recipe how to make ground shrimp, it's easy!)
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It's wonderful as a veggie dip or as a sauce you can spoon over your rice. I personally do both, spoon it over rice and then follow it up with a bite of veggies! I have put this out as a dip at a party and people devoured it. It creamy, savoury, slightly sweet from the coconut milk and palm sugar...it tastes nothing like any other dips!!
Thai Miso Coconut Dip (Lohn Tao Jiew)
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Ingredients
- ¼ cup tao jiew (Thai fermented soybean paste), or sub miso paste (see note 1)
- 1 cup coconut milk
- ½ lb ground pork, or sub ground chicken or ground shrimp (see note 2)
- ¼ cup chopped shallots
- 1 stalk lemongrass, bottom half only, finely sliced (optional)
- 2 makrut lime leaves, optional
- 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste, store bought or homemade (see note 3)
- ⅓ cup chopped red and green chilies, see note 4
- For serving: jasmine rice and crunchy dipping vegetables such as cucumber, cabbage, and carrots.
Notes
- Thai miso (tao jiew) comes in a glass bottle, and the only brand available overseas is Healthy Boy Brand. If not available, substitute equal volume of miso or doenjang paste.
- To make ground shrimp, first chop raw shrimp into small pieces, then gather it into a pile on a cutting board, and use a big chef's knife to chop them down further using a quick, up-and-down, chop-chop-chop motion, changing the direction of your knife a few times, until you get a texture that resembles ground meat. It is also very common to make this dip with half ground pork half ground shrimp.
- Always use Thai tamarind paste for Thai cooking, not Indian tamarind paste.
- The red and green chilies are mostly for aesthetics, and traditionally we use spur chilies (prik chee fa), so this can be bell peppers if you want no heat, or jalapenos, fresnows, or other kinds of spicier chilies if you want it spicier.
FULL VIDEO TUTORIAL
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Subscribe to my YouTube ChannelInstructions
- Put the tao jiew in a mortar and pestle and mash it until smooth (no need to do this if using miso or doenjang); add to a medium pot. Add the coconut milk and bring to a simmer.¼ cup tao jiew (Thai fermented soybean paste), 1 cup coconut milk
- Meanwhile, add a few tablespoons of the coconut milk from the pot to the ground pork and mash it to loosen; this will make it easier for the pork to break up into small bits.½ lb ground pork
- Once the coconut milk is simmering, add the ground pork to the coconut milk and immediately break it up so there are no big chunks - this is a dip so any chunky bits will make it hard to dip.
- Once the pork is broken up, add the shallots, lemongrass, then grab the makrut lime leaves and twist them to bruise and release the aroma, then tear them into big chunks into the pot. Season with the palm sugar and tamarind paste and simmer for a few minutes or until the pork is fully cooked.¼ cup chopped shallots, 1 stalk lemongrass, 2 makrut lime leaves, 1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped palm sugar, 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- Once cooked through, taste and adjust seasoning with more sugar and tamarind as needed (very important!). If it feels one dimensionally salty, add a little more sugar to help balance it so it feels very slightly sweet. There should be just enough tamarind so it feel bright and not too rich, but it should not be distinctly sour.
- Stir in the red and green chilies and serve with rice and fresh dipping vegetables.⅓ cup chopped red and green chilies, For serving: jasmine rice and crunchy dipping vegetables such as cucumber, cabbage, and carrots.
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