“Wow! This is soooo good!!” My Thai Hubby mumbled out as he ravenously stuck another spoonful of the Thai sausage, with a spicy, zesty dipping sauce and jasmine rice in his mouth.
Its flavors of tangy kaffir lime leaf, spicy, heart-warming Thai red curry paste, and a hint of sweetness drew us in so much that each bite was like going to the cozy house of a welcoming host who makes you feel so part of the family you never want to leave.
What is Thai Sausage?
Thai sausage is a staple in the northeastern area of Thailand called Issan. It’s the land where after one bite of Issan food your mouth starts to zing, and your eyes to start to water, and you equally crave something to cool off your firey mouth, but also can’t wait for that next bite.
At least that’s how I feel!
Yup, it’s where some of the spiciest, flavor packed Thai food originates. But you can find Issan food all over Thailand because it’s so delicious Thais everywhere want to eat it!
But not only is Thai sausage overflowing with flavor bounty, the other part of the meal my Thai Hubby couldn’t get enough of was the spicy, smoky Thai chili paste you dip the Thai sausage in.
Broiling the shallots, Thai chili, and garlic adds a depth of smoky, umami flavor to the Thai chili dip that accentuates all the other flavors. It’s like you go down into the flavors and come back up into the brightness of all the other sour and spicy components.
How to Make Easy Homemade Thai Sausage
I first saw this homemade Thai sausage recipe from the Thai chef Chef Parnass Savang of Atlanta’s Talat Market in a Bon Appetit magazine.
I couldn’t wait to try it, and after my first bite I was already thinking of what day next week I would add it to our meal plan!
Of course in Thailand making homemade Thai sausage can be more involved than this easy weeknight Thai sausage recipe, but my Thai Hubby loves and approves this one, so we usually stick to this simple version!
To make it easier on you, try to make the Thai chili dipping sauce the day before or earlier in the day, so the night of all you have to make is the Thai sausage patties.
For the Thai chili dipping paste, broil the shallots, garlic and Thai chilis on a baking sheet for 6-10 minutes, or until blackened in spots.
Peel the garlic, pepper and shallots, and coarsely chop. Add garlic, shallots and peppers to a stone mortar and pestle or food processor and pound or process until a smooth-ish paste.
Add the lime juice, cilantro, fish sauce and sugar to taste, and put it in a container that’s easiest for you to devour it once your Thai Sausage is done.
Then mix all the Thai sausage ingredients in a large bowl, and make them into around 2 tablespoon size patties.
Warm a few tablespoons of cooking oil of choice over medium high heat. Fry the Thai sausage patties until crispy on the outside and cooked to 165 degrees inside. Serve with the Thai chili paste dipping sauce, cabbage, or steamed veggies of choice.
Traditionally it’s served with sticky rice, which you can read more about how to cook Thai sticky rice and all the deets on it here. But feel free to serve it with Jasmine rice too! Whatever you have handy!
And take a pic and share it on Instagram with me @thaifoodie. I can’t wait to see it!
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How to Make Easy Weeknight Thai Sausage
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4
Description
Wake up your boring weeknight dinners now! Not only is weeknight Thai sausage loaded with flavor, but also its Thai chili paste is packed with the spicy, zesty, savory, sweet notes too!
Ingredients
Thai Chili Dipping Sauce
2 medium shallots, unpeeled
1 head of garlic, unpeeled
4–6 red or green Thai chiles, depending on spice preference
2–3 Tbsp. (to taste) fresh lime juice
1 Tbsp. finely chopped cilantro stems and leaves
1–2 Tbsp. (to taste) fish sauce
1–2 tsp. (to taste) sugar
Thai Sausage
3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
1 shallot, minced
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp to 1/4 cup red curry paste, (depending on spicy preference)
2 tbsp coconut milk
2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp cilantro stems and leaves, minced
1.5 lb ground turkey or chicken
Instructions
Broil the shallots, garlic and Thai chilis on a baking sheet for 6-10 minutes, or until blackened in spots. Or if you have a gas stove I’m jealous of you because you can just char them over your burner.
Peel the garlic, pepper and shallots, and coarsely chop. Add garlic, shallots and peppers to a stone mortar and pestle or food processor and pound or process until a smooth-ish paste.
Add the lime juice, cilantro, fish sauce and sugar to taste.
Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
Take about 2 tbsp. of mixture to form into a patty.
Warm a few tablespoons of cooking oil of choice over medium high heat. Fry the Thai sausage patties until crispy on the outside and cooked to 165 degrees inside.
Serve with the dipping sauce, cabbage, or steamed veggies or choice and Thai sticky rice or jasmine rice.
Notes
Most Thais would make this kind of dish with ground pork, which is what we prefer, or ground turkey, or ground chicken. We’ve tried it with ground beef and the beef flavor was too overpowering for us and took away from all the other flavors. But if you only have ground beef, give it a try and see what you think!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: Thai
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai
Keywords: Thai sausage, Easy weeknight Thai sausage, easy thai sausage recipe, thai sausage recipe, homemade thai sausage, thai sausage dipping sauce, Thai dipping sauce
