Text 21582, 108 rader
Skriven 2007-10-21 00:28:00 av JIM WELLER (1:123/140)
     Kommentar till en text av MICHAEL LOO
Ärende: Re: start o trip 307
============================
-=> Quoting Michael Loo to Jim Weller <=-

 ML> [...] Sbarro
 ML> heat-lamp pizza at Sbarro.
 ML> Let your nose do the walking, preferably out of there.

[sigh] We sometimes visit Lily at that mall when she is working and
she often takes just a half hour for lunch on a busy day so there is
no time to leave the mall for greener pastures. Last time we ate at
an absolutely abysmal Smitty's pancake house. The time before that
Moxie's grill where I decked the waiter. The only things left are the
little fast food booths in the food court.

 ML> Title: Creamy Fettucini Al-FRED-o
 ML> 8 oz Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese
 ML> 1/2 c  Parkay margarine

Touche'!


On to some real food....

MMMMM-----Meal-Master - formatted by MMCONV  2.10

     Title: Simon Bao's Nuoc Cham
Categories: Vietnamese, Condiments, Dips
  Servings: 1 batch

      1    clove of garlic crushed or
           finely minced
           juice of one fresh lime or
    1/4 c  rice vinegar
      2 TB sugar (ordinary granulated
           is fine)
      2 TB fish sauce
      4 TB warm water
      1    fresh hot chili red pepper
           minced

The standard issue "dipping sauce on the side" you seek is simply
"Nuoc Cham."  People often translate that as "fish sauce," which is
misleading, as that is the English word for "Nuoc Mam," the stuff in
the bottles.  It's better to call it Sweet and Sour Dipping Sauce.

Now, before I give you my recipe, I will make you endure my
comments.  If one wants "Nuoc Cham" to taste good, and taste
*right*, don't make it with vinegar.

I know, I know, I know...  all over the Internet there are recipes
that tell you to do that.  Recipes specify vinegar and never mention
limes.  That's wrong.  The *default* recipe for making the sauce is
to use lime juice, not vinegar.  I confess, there are times when
I've had to use vinegar at other people's homes.  I know which lousy
local restaurants use vinegar on a regular basis, there are
inattentive home cooks who do no meal planning and use vinegar
because they don't have limes in the fridge.  But lime brings much
more to the sauce than vinegar's single note of acidity, it brings
citrusy and floral notes as well.

If you are in a pinch and have no choice but to use vinegar, try to
use light rice vinegar, or Japanese rice vinegar; cane vinegar would
be the next choice down the line, followed by plain white vinegar. I
have actually tried making Nuoc Cham with some of the other
vinegars, mostly out of curiosity to see what happens.  Nothing good
happens, trust me.  Curious things happen, but not good things.

Now, my own "mother" recipe for Nuoc Cham is the above, mixed
together.

However, that recipe will vary according to the foods I want to use
the sauce with, or who I'm serving the sauce to.  In some cases I
may want more or less garlic or pepper, saltier or sweeter.
According to how I want to use the sauce, I may add finely chopped
fresh herbs right to the sauce just before serving (e.g., cilantro,
or one of the Viet mints). If the sauce is to accompany some beef,
I may want to really punch up the presence of the lime and add just
a bit of very finely grated lime zest.  One can also just drop some
lime peel into the sauce, pieces large enough to easily retrieve,
let that sit in the sauce till it's ready for use.  If I want to use
the Nuoc Cham as a condiment for seafood, I might replace the lime
juice with lemon juice.  Sometimes I add some grated carrot, or some
very thinly shredded ribbons of carrot and daikon.  Some foods
*demand* that there be some very finely grated ginger in the Nuoc
Cham; I think both duck and deer (venison) need the ginger.

So your neighbor's failure to show you how to make up some Nuoc Cham
might stem from her not knowing what you're cooking, and which
version of the condiment is most suitable, or how well you handle
some fierce hot chili peppers.  Or, she may not want everyone in the
neighborhood to know she's making it out of plain white vinegar.
:-)

If you haven't already tried it, Nuoc Cham makes a really great
fat-free salad dressing.   -simon
                           
  From: Simon Bao To: Internationaltable
 
MMMMM-------------------------------------------------


Cheers

YK Jim


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