Ever run into a cooking “snag” ?  I just did the other day and my sister was my life-saver.

We always have a variety of vegetables in our every day meals, usually sautéed, blanched or roasted.

We seldom make any sauce for our vegetables, usually lightly seasoned with sea salt and olive oil. Perhaps in a huge part this is related to the types of cuisine we usually have at home, and also due to our continued efforts to restrict having “processed” foods (including prepared sauces) in our household.

The other day when we were trying to decide what to make for dinner; my sis started to tell me about this delicious Vietnamese dipping sauce which she had with steamed vegetables in Vietnam, she sent me a recipe by Ms. Vicky Phan as reference.

I was thinking dipping sauce for vegetables? Ah I get it, something similar to Bagna Cauda which I made a few months ago for our epic Italian dinner, except there’s no butter and anchovies, replaced with shallots and fish sauce.    

It is very easy to make, takes less than 20 minutes including prep time.  My recipe is a modified version of Ms. Vicky Phan’s Savory Vietnamese Vegetable Dipping sauce, check out her website for delightful Vietnamese recipes.

For my recipe I use more shallots than garlic, less fish sauce and substitute with hot water to make it slightly less salty, I have also added a little twist: grated lime zest, squeeze of lime juice plus a drizzle of the King Sauce (just the chili oil) from Betty King Sauce (Available online or through Instagram – check out this awesome King sauce)

Ingredients: 3 Tablespoons Fish Sauce (I used “Red Boat”,  3 Tablespoons raw cane sugar, 1 Tablespoon olive oil,  1 large shallot (minced), 2 small cloves of garlic (minced), 2 Tablespoons of dried shrimp (rehydrated in warm water, pat dry and minced),  grated zest of lime and squeeze of lime juice, hot water (a few Tablespoons).  ***Vegetarians – Omit the dried shrimp and use more shallots/garlic, or add chopped lemongrass to create a fragrant sauce. For some heat, add chili (or chili oil).

• In small bowl mix fish sauce, a Tablespoon of hot water and raw cane sugar well.  Set aside
• Using medium high heat, in a sauce pan,  add olive oil (or vegetable oil of your choice).
• Add garlic and shallot, lightly stir fried until fragrant.  Be careful they burn very easily.
• Turn heat to medium low, add dried shrimp, mix well with garlic and shallot, stir until fragrant.
• Add fish sauce sugar mixture into the pot, stir gently and cook until sauce thickens.  You can add hot water (by Tablespoons – optional) to adjust thickness and taste according to your liking.
•  Add chili oil (optional), lime zest and squeeze of lime juice
• Keep watch closely and dont let the sauce burn – patience!
• When sauce is cooking, steam the vegetables which should be ready in a few minutes.  Serve hot.

For our meal we served the sauce with steamed Brussel sprouts, zucchini, carrots, purple kale and brocolini.  I lined the steamer with “cooking steam cloth” (available at Chinese cookery stores).

I used a really great steamer which I first saw on Youtube used by home cooks/bloggers;  I searched for a long time and one fine day in December when I walked by Orling and Wu …..there it was…and I bought it home..