Culinary Vietnam (4 page)

1
Mix together the salt and pepper, and then moisten with some lime juice. Add the chiles, if desired, mix with a chopstick, and serve.

Sweet Chile Sauce

Nuoc Sot Chua Ngot

2 tablespoons cornstarch or arrowroot powder

1-3/4 cups water, divided

4 tablespoons white or raw sugar

2 tablespoons finely minced shallot or onion

2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled

2-1/2 tablespoons rice or white vinegar

2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce (or a combination of both)

Generous dash of salt

1/4 teaspoon finely ground white pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground annatto seeds (optional)

2 tablespoons finely grated carrot

1 tablespoon finely grated scallion

1 to 2 tablespoons minced red serrano or Thai chile, or 2 tablespoons sweet red pepper

Makes 2 cups

A sort of Vietnamese sweet-and-sour sauce, this recipe is more sophisticated and lighter than the Chinese and Thai versions. Sweet chile sauce is usually served with crispy spring rolls and other roll-up dishes, grilled meats, seafood, and anything else you like. It can be made with or without the chiles. I like to caramelize the sugar first to give the flavor more depth, but it is still tasty without that step. If you want the reddish-orange color of the commercial types, add the annatto seeds; otherwise, the sauce will have a light, somewhat transparent color.

1
Mix the cornstarch with 3 tablespoons cool water to dissolve and set aside.

2
In a heavy saucepan, caramelize the sugar until a light golden-brown (see Caramel Sauce recipe for technique). Add the remaining water, shallot, garlic, vinegar, fish sauce, salt, pepper, annatto seeds, carrot, scallion, and chiles to the pan. Bring to a boil, and stir for 1 to 2 minutes to dissolve the sugar (it will crystallize at first). Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.

The People and Flavors of Hue and Hoi An

The food in Hue is unique and very special. The legacy of the emperors is still evident in a wide variety of small plates and portions served with a fastidious attention to detail. The locals enjoy strong flavors with chiles, fermented shrimp paste, and sauces playing an important role. There is seasonality to the cuisine, and many temperate climate vegetables and fruits are produced here during the cooler seasons. Nowhere can you better observe this bounty of produce than at Dong Ba market alongside the north bank of the Perfume River next to the storied and colorfully lighted Trang Thien Bridge. Everything is available in this massive marketplace: clothes, hats, cloth, incense, jewelry, household utensils and necessities, kitschy curios and trinkets, fruits, vegetables, meats, live poultry and seafood, condiments, flowers, and just about anything else you can think of. Under the roof of the main building are the permanent vendors, usually carrying dry goods and equipment, but some sell fruits as well. Around the fringes are a myriad of people from the countryside, hawking their colorful basketfuls of herbs, vegetables, chiles, fruits, vegetables, etc., with the fresh fish vendors on the outer edge paralleling the river. This is also a friendly market, and a smile and some sign language will go a long way in exploring and negotiating.

The Hoi An fish market is a sight to behold. Starting at well before dawn, the fishing boats motor in to unload their overnight catch, and often there are so many that they merely tie up to each other in a giant raft formation rather than waiting for a space alongside the dock. The eager buyers swarm over these boats, haggling over price and quality, and when a deal is struck, they hurry to the shore to set up and sell again to the waiting smaller buyers. This market is dominated by women, and it is quite a sight to see the conical hats bobbing and the high-pitched voices negotiating and arguing in musical Vietnamese. Many different varieties of fish, shellfish, and other exotic marine creatures are on display, depending on the time of year.

A number of villages that surround Hoi An in the countryside specialize in different crops to be sold in the local market and in Da Nang. One special place is the cooperative village of Tra Que, where they produce organic herbs and vegetables, all fertilized with seaweed. The flavors of these herbs and greens are noticeably stronger and tastier than the already-flavorful typical ones seen around the rest of the country. The market in Hoi An is a great place to view, taste, and buy the local harvest, and there you can also purchase a Hoi An specialty: fresh Cau Lau noodles, made with rice flour, water, and a touch of ashes, which causes the trademark yellow color.

Caramel Sauce

Nuoc Hang

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup white or raw sugar

Makes 2 cups

Used to add a sweet and slightly bitter richness and color to stews and clay-pot dishes, and for marinades on grilled meats, this is a very important sauce in the Vietnamese cooking repertoire. Its subtle flavoring is often added to other sauces, and it adds nuances of flavor that are distinctive to the Vietnamese style of cooking. You can also find this sauce premade in the bottle at Asian markets.

1
Preheat a heavy saucepan or skillet to medium-high heat.

2
In a separate pan or in a cup in the microwave, heat the water to almost boiling. Place the sugar in the preheated pan and it will begin to melt. Stir by tilting the pan in various directions as needed (using a spoon could cause the sugar to re-crystallize). Be careful not to burn the sugar.

3
When the sugar is melted and has reached a dark golden-brown color with a little smoke rising from the surface, remove from the heat and carefully add the very hot water to the pan. The water will sizzle and hiss—take care not to burn yourself. Return the pan to the heat and cook until all the sugar is dissolved. Cool and use as called for. The sauce may be stored at room temperature for a few weeks in a tightly sealed jar.

Coconut Peanut Sauce with Chiles

Tuong Den

1-1/2 cups fresh coconut milk, or 1 can (12 ounces) unsweetened coconut milk

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce or spicy bean paste

1/3 cup Basic Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (below) or

Soy-Lime Dipping Sauce

3 tablespoons roasted and chopped peanuts

1 to 2 tablespoons

Chile-Garlic-Oil Table Condiment

or mashed fresh red serrano or Thai chiles

Makes about 1-3/4 cups

This is a sauce that I tasted in the Mekong Delta, where coconuts grow everywhere. It was served with a rice paper roll filled with a salad of shredded vegetables and herbs and grilled meats similar to the Grilled Beef and Shrimp Hand Rolls. It is also good with fried squid and shrimp and any grilled meat, poultry, or seafood. Often made with fermented soybeans, I use Nuoc Cham and a little hoisin sauce with good results.