Gia-Ninh and I have been friends for over 10 years and he really REALLY knows his way around a kitchen. When he talks, I listen. He came over a couple of weeks ago to make us dinner and taught us how to make this sauce/marinade. We haven't looked back since. Wayne has seriously made it at least 3 times already. It's delicious. And it goes with everything chicken, shrimp, tofu, etc). Gia-Ninh tossed it with lo mein noodles and veggies when he was here but we've since combined it with beef and marinated chicken in it - all equally good things. Make it. Slather it on everything. Smile.
Look familiar?
- 1 clove garlic
- approx. 1/2-1 inch of grated ginger
- juice of 1/2 a lime (with pulp)
- 1-2 tbsp raw sugar
- 1/2 to 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/8 tsp Siracha hot sauce (or any other chili garlic puree) to start, taste before you add more
- up to 1/4 cup water
Crush the garlic & sugar with a mortar & pestle (see? I told you this would be fun).
Add ginger. Add lime juice & pulp (get the pulp out with a fork).
Add soy sauce & Siracha. Blend.
Taste as you go & add the water to balance it out.
For those of you who aren't familiar with Siracha, it's asian chili garlic burning fire sauce. It's hot as hell and goes great in everything. You can usually find it in the ethnic aisle of a regular ole grocery store:
Look familiar?
Though Becky gives me credit, this is based on something I found in Mai Pham's "Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table: Recipes and Reminiscences from Vietnam's Best Market Kitchens, Street Cafes, and Home Cooks". Any variation is due to my poor memory. After all, Becky and I have known each other for 87 years. . .
ReplyDeleteThis is a veggie/vegan entry in the world of accompanying dipping sauces served widely in Vietnamese cuisine. The one most people know is: fish sauce, sugar, water, chili and some aromatics (daikon, carrot, herbs, etc.)
Like Formula 409, soy-lime sauce is multi-purpose. :-]
[Hyperbole: Becky and I have known each other since the earth was still cooling and the continents were joined as one and named Pangea.
Back story: Becky and I have a running joke stemming from an honest mistake she made ~ 10 years ago when she said, "Gia-Ninh and I have known each other for a decade." That quickly turned into, "We've known each other for 25 years; 37 years; 473 years..."
Reality: We became close friends in 1993. I cherish every experience we share together and regret the ones we've missed. But that's life.]
Gia-Ninh, you are the the sea salt on my focaccia.
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