Lately, my spouse and I have been eating our way through Family Thai: Bringing the Flavors of Thailand Home by Arnold Myint and Kat Thompson (2025). It’s an excellent cookbook full of full-color photographs, and the food has been delicious, so I strongly recommend buying it if you like Thai food. As I’ve been making some of these dishes, I’m making my notes on this website. I’m making a few changes, particularly because I like spicy food but my tolerance isn’t up to the level of the original recipes.

This recipe makes a dip which you can use with chips or fresh veggie sticks. If you like baba ghanoush, this is like a Thai version — spicier, and chunky where the middle-eastern version is smoother like hummus. It uses fresh vegetables and chilies, and is absolutely delightful for a party or just a special night.

2 Japanese eggplants or 1 small-ish Italian eggplant
2 Anaheim chiles
2 jalapenos
4 garlic cloves
3 shallots or 1/2 red onion
1 tbsp. sunflower or vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. shrimp paste
1/3 c. chopped cilantro
1 tbsp. lime juice
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
Optional: 1 tbsp. toasted ground chile, crushed dried chile, or however many fresh chiles you want to eat without burning a hole through your stomach lining

Preheat your oven’s broiler to high and move the rack to 5-6 inches from the top.

Split the eggplant lengthwise (or quarter it if it’s large). Remove the stems from the Anaheims and jalapenos, and quarter the shallots/onion.

Arrange on a baking pan with the garlic and toss with the oil, placing the eggplant flesh-side down. Broil until the skin is charred and the chiles are roasted (roughly 8 minutes). Let cool, but keep the broiler on for the next step.

Take a piece of aluminum foil and fold up the edges to make a small boat. Add the shrimp paste and broil for 3-5 minutes until it’s darker and more pungent. (This will likely foam up and harden, too.)

Remove the eggplant skin. Roughly chop the eggplant and chiles. Use a food processor to roughly grind up the eggplant, chiles, onion, and garlic, until it’s chunky but not baby food in consistency. Add the cilantro.

Add the shrimp paste, lime juice, sugar, and salt and mix until evenly combined.

Transfer to a bowl and serve. This can be good with tortilla chips, veggies, rice, or whatever else sounds good! Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.