A short-fermented raw pork sausage from northern and north-eastern Thailand, packed into banana leaf or plastic tubes and eaten within a few days of being made, when it has turned distinctly sour.
A three-day room-temperature ferment does not kill the parasites and bacteria that raw pork carries. Naem is a documented vehicle for trichinellosis and for Streptococcus suis in Thailand, and the response has been industrial rather than domestic: licensed Thai producers irradiate naem or use nitrite curing salt with controlled starter cultures, and the Thai FDA sets standards for it precisely because the uncontrolled version made people ill. A kitchen cannot substitute for either safeguard, so the atlas records what naem is instead of telling you to ferment raw pork on the counter
What goes into it
- Finely minced raw pork, usually with shredded pork skin worked through it
- Cooked glutinous rice, which feeds the lactic bacteria
- A great deal of raw garlic
- Salt, and often a curing salt in commercial production
- Whole bird’s eye chillies pushed in along the length
How it is made
The pork, rice, garlic and salt are mixed and packed very tightly into banana leaf so no air is left inside, then held at room temperature for two to four days. Lactic bacteria already present on the meat drop the pH until the sausage is sour and firm. It is sold from that point and is traditionally eaten raw, sliced with ginger, peanuts and more raw chilli.
How long it takes: Two to four days at room temperature
How it is eaten
Raw, in slices, with ginger, peanuts, shallot and chilli, or cooked into fried rice and omelettes
History
Northern and north-eastern fermented sausage soured by lactic bacteria in three days at room temperature; commonly eaten raw with chilli and ginger.
Frequently asked questions
What is Naem?
Naem is a fermented & pickled from Thailand: raw pork soured with rice and garlic in banana leaf, eaten within days. Northern and north-eastern fermented sausage soured by lactic bacteria in three days at room temperature; commonly eaten raw with chilli and ginger.
How is Naem made?
The pork, rice, garlic and salt are mixed and packed very tightly into banana leaf so no air is left inside, then held at room temperature for two to four days. Lactic bacteria already present on the meat drop the pH until the sausage is sour and firm. It is sold from that point and is traditionally eaten raw, sliced with ginger, peanuts and more raw chilli. It takes two to four days at room temperature.
Can I make Naem at home?
No, and the atlas gives no method for it. A three-day room-temperature ferment does not kill the parasites and bacteria that raw pork carries. Naem is a documented vehicle for trichinellosis and for Streptococcus suis in Thailand, and the response has been industrial rather than domestic: licensed Thai producers irradiate naem or use nitrite curing salt with controlled starter cultures, and the Thai FDA sets standards for it precisely because the uncontrolled version made people ill. A kitchen cannot substitute for either safeguard, so the atlas records what naem is instead of telling you to ferment raw pork on the counter.
What goes into Naem?
Finely minced raw pork, usually with shredded pork skin worked through it, cooked glutinous rice, which feeds the lactic bacteria, a great deal of raw garlic, salt, and often a curing salt in commercial production, whole bird’s eye chillies pushed in along the length.
How is Naem eaten?
Raw, in slices, with ginger, peanuts, shallot and chilli, or cooked into fried rice and omelettes.
