Food question, Thailand, what exactly is Nam Tok?

"Nam Tok" literally means waterfall but when used with food it has the following meanings:

1/. For noodle/soup type of dishes it means to add blood to the soup to thicken it. Normally beef or pork based noodle dishes.

2/. For non noodle type like "Nuae Yang Nam Tok" it means that the grill beef is rare on the inside.

http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/ubbs/archive/APPETIZERS/Beef_Nam_Tok.html

I've only ever had it with the meat cooked. Soemtimes hot and sometimes cold like Larb,

Neua Yang Nam Tok, or waterfall beef. This dish is often cooked on a barbeque (the juices drip onto charcoal hence the name waterfall) but you can fry or broil the beef just as well. It is normally cooked rare. The meat is firstly soaked in a marinade of fish sauce,tamarind concentrate mixed with water, lime juice and Thai chile peppers. It's delicious !

Nam tok moo (pork) is the tastiest version. The pork is grilled or barbequed, not raw.

If we're talking fermented then it's anything with plaa ra (fermented fish sauce) you should avoid if you want to lessen the risk of an upset stomache. There's been a goverment campaign lately aimed at raising awareness of the risk of liver fluke leading to cancer due to eating raw or undercooked fresh water fish. The percentage of people with liver or bile duct cancer is far higher in Issan than anywhere on the planet.

If you want to eat som tum then stick to the Thai version (the one with peanuts) rather than the Issan or Lao versions that include plaa ra or black crabs. The Thai version is sweeter and not as spicy.

I consider most of the above somewhat misleading, as they focus on the beef. Nam Tok is a dish made with meat (usually beef) mixed with mint, garlic, roasted rice, and many other spices.

Misleading - really Michael? As a resident of Thailand you should know better. Nam Tok when use with cooking can be any type of meat or fish. As per my earlier explanation it is used in two category of cooking - meat dishes or soup based noodle dishes.

Try - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_tok_(food)

Nam Tok is an Issan favourite.

I think someone has been told a rather censored version of why “Nam Tok” -
Nam Tok – waterfall – refers to the way the blood “dripped” (or poured!) out of the meat. Originally it was made with raw meat – now it is cooked or pre-cooked to varying degrees.
The basic “sauce” is the same as Laab. It is made with copious quantities of chilli and shallots. It is in essence a SALAD – often a warm one. Served with mint and usually a slab of cabbage green beans cucumber sticks and Morning glory.

Nam Tok has over time become a euphemism for blood added to (or in) any dish.

Many Thai people won’t eat beef (usually buffalo) so it is available with pork – especially liver or even fish frog etc..

thanks for the replies, I was hoping to make nam for dinner tonight and bought a seasoning package from an Asian grocery store, but I'm not to certain about the receipe, I started a thread in the lounge asking for help, here's thread:- threahttp://www.fodors.com/community/fodorite-lounge/im-confused-about-this-receipe-please-help.cfm

If any of you can please help with the receipe I'd appreciate it.

Thank you.

Try this one....

Ingredients:

You need a 1 pound steak, cut fairly thick.

Marinade

1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate mixed with 3 teaspoons water
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon chopped Thai Chilli peppers

Mix the marinade, coat the steak with it and marinade it for at least 3 hours.

The steak is then barbecued, broiled or grilled until on the rare side of medium rare, cut into half inch thick strips and the strips cut into bite sized pieces. The meat can be kept cool until just before you want to eat.

Remaining ingredients

1/3 cup fish sauce
1/3 cup lime juice
2-3 tablespoons chopped shallots
2-3 tablespoons chopped coriander/cilantro (including the roots if possible)
2-3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
2 tablespoons khao koor (see below)
1 tablespoon freshly roasted/fried sesame seeds
1-3 teaspoons freshly ground dried red chillies.

Khao Koor: get a medium sized wok fairly hot, and add a couple of tablespoons of uncooked jasmine rice. Keep in movement until the rice starts to turn golden brown. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Grind to a fairly coarse powder in a spice mill, or a mortar and pestle, or a pepper mill or a good clean coffee grinder (all of these work well but keep in mind that a coffee grinder tends to grind too fine--the powder should retain some "texture") We also offer ready-made Khao Koor in premium quality Hand Brand.

Method

In a wok bring a little oil to medium high heat and add the strips of beef, immediately followed by all the remaining ingredients. Stir fry until heated through (about a minute).

Serve with Thai sticky rice, or as part of a meal with pad Thai and a soup such as tom yum koong (hot and sour shrimp soup).

Above recipe courtesy of Thai Kitchen.