Padaek – 5 month update

[dropcap]Hello[/dropcap] y’all – apologies for the late update on the padaek – was a little busy/caught up over the last week/weekend – it was the long weekend after all – thank you Queen Elizabeth! We’re back now though, and although the update and photos of the padaek below was not made/taken on the 5th (last Thursday) – as promised/scheduled, I did inspect the jar on the 4th and the photos below – taken on the 9th (yesterday) – proves that very little has happened between those dates, believe me.

Anyhow, there’s really not much to say as the photos speak for themselves but some commentary would include that the padaek has changed colour – a little – to something more murky/sombre/aged. Since the last inspection/update (ie – open the lid and move/stir/re-arrange the padaek in the jar), the padaek’s liquid and sediment levels have settled at new levels – I’ve marked the new padaek sediment level with #6 indicating this wintery month of June. It seems that despite being stirred/re-arranged a month ago, the padaek is still marching to the beat of its own drum and taking its sweet old time to ferment – you mystify me padaek. That’s pretty much the update/news for the padaek this month folks.

Meanwhile, I would like to share with you another padaek/padek recipe that I serendipitously discovered on YouTube by ThunderLaoKATng. The recipe is different to the one I used to make padaek and include several ingredients including dried galangal, chili pepper flakes, roasted rice powder, msg, fish sauce, fish, etc. With such delicious ingredients incorporated, I’m pretty sure that the fermented/ready padaek/padek would taste quite incredible and be packed full of delicious umami/noah  flavours – double saab! You can view the video recipe here and an updated video of what the finished padaek/padek looks like here. Thank you ThunderLaoKATng for sharing your recipe!

Also, I recently purchased a bottle of commercial fermented/pickled fish sauce from the Asian grocer – it is considered a good alternative/option to traditional/homemade Lao padaek sauce. I’ll be opening it soon to do a little sample/review – so stay tuned. Have a great week folks!