Tag: Fish Sauce

RECIPE: Steamed Vegetables with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

Categories Deb's Kitchen, Recipes, VegetarianLeave a Comment on RECIPE: Steamed Vegetables with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce

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..

 

 

“Lazy” Phnom Penh Dry Noodle

Categories Meat, Pasta and Noodle, RecipesLeave a Comment on “Lazy” Phnom Penh Dry Noodle

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“Phnom Penh” is one of our favourite Vancouver eateries; my friend “PPQ” came up with this “lazy” version (without soup) and recently I have fine tuned this easy recipe. The ingredients are simple and easy to prepare, it is also fun to prepare this for a “buffet” or potluck party, all you have to do is prepare the toppings and everyone can assemble their own noodle dish and spark an interesting dinner conversation! Enjoy (OO).

Ingredients: (Serves 2 – 4 as light meal/appetizer)

1 package of fresh Chinese rice noodle “Cheong Fun” roll (650g, with scallions and dried shrimp) (available at most Asian supermarkets),  Tiger prawns (approximately 3-4 each person for each serving, shelled, deveined, boiled), lean pasture raised ground pork (250g), fish sauce (for seasoning the pork), cilantro, fresh lime, 1 package of bean sprouts, green scallions (chopped), fried garlic and fried onion (you can make your own or purchase prepackaged product from Thailand), fresh Thai chilies (seeded and finely chopped, optional), Chinese “Tianjin” preserved cabbage (small handful)

For the sauce:  Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce, low sodium chicken stock, dark soy sauce (1-1-1 ratio)

Other condiments: Store bought Sambal Olek Chilli Sauce, chopped Thai chillies mixed with white vinegar (optional), Homemade prawn oil (optional)

Preparation:

–  Cut the rice roll into bite size (approximately 1 inch lengthwise); then slice through the middle to make them thinner; sprinkle with cold water and reheat in rice cooker (leave them in rice cooker under  “keep warm” mode”).

– To prepare the sauce: mix all ingredients and bring to boil, adjust sweetness and saltiness according to your liking

– Instead of oil, add a little water to skillet and saute the ground pork in high heat, add a little fish sauce for seasoning, set aside

– To prepare the prawns: shelled and deveined (with tail intact), add water to medium size pot (enough to cover the prawns), add a slice of lemon and a few black peppercorn and bring liquid to a boil; add prawns and cook until just opaque throughout. Have an “ice” bath ready; when prawns are cooked, pour the prawns into strainer and “shock” in ice bath immediately to stop the cooking process.  Strained and set aside.

– Parboil the bean sprouts quickly, strain and set aside.

– Prepare the preserved cabbage – soaked in cold water for at least 15 to 20 minutes, squeezed dry and chopped finely; chop green scallions, cilantro, slice the limes.

– To serve, Place each ingredient in individual serving bowls, prepare a condiment tray and set up the self-serve noodle bar.  Enjoy!

Notes:

You can adjust the meat/vegetable quantity and taste according to your taste and dietary needs.  Steamed pork belly slices are also good addition to this dish.

Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce – the brand which I’ve used is called “ABC”, it’s available at T & T Supermarket.  When making the sauce, I diluted the sweet soy sauce with low sodium chicken broth to lessen the sweetness.

I used the prawn shells and prepared my own oil (It’s simple and easy to prepare).