I’ve become a bit of a coffee lover the last few years (thanks to a friend who gave me my first bag of Stumptown coffee beans… which was also my introduction to freshly ground beans and, later, the French press), but I still don’t often find myself cooking with it. Not long ago, I came [...]
Posts under ‘sauces’
Food Matchmaking: Guava Loves Chili Salt
I love the fruit stands in SE Asia where you can buy cut fruit that often comes with a little package of chili salt. In my family, guava is one of those fruits we always eat with chili salt. But chili salt is basically great with any fruit that’s a bit tart, like green mango, [...]
Red Boat Fish Sauce from Phu Quoc
A couple years ago, I set out on a quest to learn what makes Phu Quoc fish sauce so legendary. I also realized in the process how difficult it is to find authentic fish sauce made in Phu Quoc here. Since then, an exciting new fish sauce brand has come onto the market. Red Boat [...]
salt, pepper, and lime dipping sauce (muoi tieu chanh)
This dipping sauce is so simple, I almost feel silly posting a recipe for it. But I didn’t want to risk it being overlooked for its simplicity, as it is surprisingly tasty, particularly with grilled meats. I especially love it served with bo kho (Vietnamese beef stew) and bo luc lac (“shaking” beef). The fresh [...]
banh mi essay and homemade mayo
A while back, I wrote a piece on the history and appeal of banh mi, the popular Vietnamese sandwich. It appeared in Sandwich, a supplement to Meatpaper magazine’s Fall 2010 issue, and you can click on the image to the right to read the essay. (Side note: the first sentence of the piece should refer [...]
javanese sambal (sambal bajak)
Thought we could all use a break from the travel posts! So here is a recipe for Javanese sambal, which I made for the first time recently. Sambal is a chili paste, and most people are probably familiar with it in the form of the Sriracha or sambal oelek — that ubiquitous condiment at pho [...]
