National Dish Thailand: Lon Tao Jiew (Recipe)
In this article
Lon Tao Jiew is a lon — a category of Thai dip in which coconut milk is simmered with something salty and fermented until it thickens. Here it is tao jiew, fermented soybean paste, cooked with minced pork, tomato, tamarind and palm sugar. It comes with a plate of raw vegetables and sticky rice, and the whole thing is salty, sweet, sour and rich at once.
About Lon Tao Jiew
Lon Tao Jiew is the well-spiced, creamy dip of northern Thailand. Fermented soybean paste simmers with coconut milk, minced meat and tomatoes into a sweet-salty-hot sauce, served in the classic manner with fresh crunchy vegetables and sticky rice. It is an authentic piece of Thai regional cooking — the lon family is old, homely food rather than restaurant fare.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 3 tablespoons tao jiew (fermented soybean paste), or light miso
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 100 g minced pork (or minced chicken)
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1–2 red chillies, sliced into rings
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
- Fresh vegetables to serve (cucumber, green beans, cabbage, aubergine)
Shopping for the ingredients
Tao jiew is sold in Thai and Chinese shops as yellow bean sauce or fermented soybean paste; white miso is a workable substitute. Use full-fat coconut milk. Palm sugar comes in discs and has a caramel depth that white sugar lacks.
Preparing the dish
Chop everything before you start, since the dip comes together in fifteen minutes. Prepare the raw vegetables and arrange them on a plate — they are half the dish, not a garnish. Mash the soybean paste slightly if it is very chunky.
Step-by-step instructions
- Warm the coconut milk gently in a pan; do not let it boil hard.
- Add the shallots and garlic and simmer for 3 minutes.
- Stir in the soybean paste until dissolved.
- Add the minced pork, breaking it up, and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes until they soften.
- Stir in the tamarind paste and palm sugar.
- Add the chillies and simmer 3 minutes more; it should be thick and glossy.
- Taste — salty, sweet and sour in balance — and serve warm with raw vegetables and sticky rice.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
The dip is naturally lactose-free, since coconut milk does the enriching. Most fermented soybean pastes contain wheat, so check the label or use a certified gluten-free miso for a gluten-free version.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Leave out the pork and the dip works well — the soybean paste supplies all the savoury depth. Crumbled firm tofu or finely chopped mushrooms restore the texture, making it fully vegan.
More tips and tricks
Keep the coconut milk below a rolling boil, or it splits. Taste and adjust at the end: a lon should hit salty, sweet and sour simultaneously, and one dominating means it is not finished. And serve the vegetables genuinely raw and cold for the contrast.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Prawns or dried shrimp in place of pork make a different lon entirely. More chilli suits it. A squeeze of lime at the end brightens the whole thing.
Ingredient substitutions
White miso substitutes for tao jiew. Lime juice can replace tamarind with a cleaner sourness. Brown sugar works in place of palm sugar.
Drink pairing ideas
Cold Singha or Chang beer is the standard Thai pairing. Iced jasmine tea suits it without alcohol. Coconut water works well against the salt.
Serving and presentation ideas
Serve lon tao jiew warm in a small bowl in the centre of a plate, with raw cucumber, green beans, cabbage wedges and Thai aubergine arranged around it, and a basket of sticky rice alongside. Everyone dips directly — it is shared food.
A bit of history
Lon dishes are among the older forms in central and northern Thai cooking: coconut cream simmered with a fermented ingredient, eaten with raw vegetables, predating the chilli-heavy curries most people associate with Thailand. They are home cooking, rarely found in restaurants abroad. It offers a genuine window onto Thai cuisine.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Lon Tao Jiew
Lon Tao Jiew is fermented soybean paste simmered in coconut milk with pork, tomato, tamarind and palm sugar. Keep it below a boil, balance salt, sweet and sour, and serve it with raw vegetables.
