Vietmanese cuisine is synonymous with dipping sauces. Most of them have more than a hint of the ocean in the form of fish (nuoc mam), anchovy (mam nem) or shrimp (mam tom). The latter has somewhat of a complex toxic pong to it, no doubt associated with the process that takes a fine looking crustacean and turns it into a purple mush over a period of months in the sun! I still haven't acquired the taste for it.
There's no swimmer in the simple dipping sauce above. Lime is squeezed and the juice wets the seasoning, chili and lime leaves. A chopstick scrapes it into a paste of sorts.
What would you dip in it?
a few restaurants locally do such a thing for some of their dishes
the ones that come to mind are either crispy quails or stir fried beef cubes
i'm sure there some others but can't think right now
Posted by: dc | 15 August 2007 at 11:29 PM
raw oyter,steamed snail , steamed shrim or prawn, steamed crab, roasted chicken.
Posted by: Duy | 16 August 2007 at 12:03 AM
if it has lime leaf in there, the sauce must be used for steamed or roasted chicken. The same reason for Chicken Pho*? must have some chop up lime leaves.
Posted by: Duy | 16 August 2007 at 12:05 AM
Ha Long Bay, a boat, a bucket of clams, and the above dipping sauce, and I'm in heaven.
Posted by: Preyanka | 16 August 2007 at 09:30 AM
Anytime i open your page, it puts a smile on my face. What a simple way of food blogging but yet appealing. Thanks, friend. Keep up the great work
Posted by: Hai Pham | 16 August 2007 at 12:43 PM
Definitely is for Ga luoc (boiled chicken). It's same as fries with ketup. That kind of sauce I would compare it as common as mayonnaise, ketup or peanut butter for British or American. Vietnamese love salty, sour, so that dipping sauce is a great sample of our cuisine. Dipping for Seafood would be the same seasonings without lime leaves (rau ram as substitute)
Posted by: Hai Pham | 16 August 2007 at 12:53 PM
Well, you're all on the mark!
I had it with ga luoc at the local bia hoi restaurant. Bloody yummy! I really love it minus the lime leaves with seafood, especially prawns.
Posted by: Sticky | 16 August 2007 at 06:21 PM
In Hoi An and Phu Quoc, about the only things we didn't have it served with were soup and Banh Xeo, I think it's totally addictive.
Posted by: Stickyfingers | 17 August 2007 at 08:48 PM
In Hoi An and Phu Quoc, about the only things we didn't have it served with were soup and Banh Xeo, I think it's totally addictive.
Posted by: Stickyfingers | 17 August 2007 at 08:48 PM
Yup, the lime leaves point towards chicken, but I've had the chili/salt/lime combo as a simple but tasty partner to marinated squid, prawns and (less interesting) roast duck.
Posted by: JC | 18 August 2007 at 02:09 PM