Thit Kho (Caramelized Braised Pork and Eggs)

This dish is another one of my mother's dishes. Growing up, I particularly loved mixing my rice with the sauce. I remember I would sometimes get more rice, just to be able to mix it with the sauce. This recipe definitely evokes memories from my childhood. Hopefully, you will enjoy it too.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs Pork Belly (cut into 2 to 3 inch pieces)
2 cups Water (enough to cover the meat)
2 tbsp. Fish Sauce
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp Black Pepper
2 cloves Garlic (thinly sliced)
1 Shallot (thinly sliced)
2 Bird's Eye Chilies (thinly sliced)
2 pieces Brown Candy
4 Eggs (hard boiled - you can include more if you like)
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Corn Starch
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Oil

DIRECTIONS:

Marinade pork with corn starch, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and 1 tsp. black pepper, then set aside.

Heat up a medium to large size pot and add oil. Once oil is hot, add garlic and shallots. Stir fry until slightly browned and fragrant, then add pork.

Once the pork has been seared in the pot for a couple of minutes, add the pepper, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and fish sauce. Allow the sauces to blend together, then add brown candy and water. Make sure there is enough water to cover the pork (may require more than 2 cups).

Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium. Add hard boiled eggs and chilies, then cover and simmer for at least 1 hour, stirring occasionally. If you have more time, allow to simmer for longer as it will allow the pork to become more tender and the flavors to release more.

Serve with fresh hot rice!

Mapo Tofu

I would like to apologize again for my lack of posts in the last while. It just has been really hard to find the time to cook, particularly to try out new recipes. Jory is now a whopping two months and 3 weeks old. He is reaching out for toys now, and we spend the mornings "talking" to each other. Basically, he tries to mimic some of the sounds he hears...and he smiles a lot in the mornings...extremely cute! It just melts my heart. It's probably why I haven't had too much time to blog...too much time staring at baby!

This recipe is another recipe passed down from my mom. There are so many versions of this dish that it's hard to figure out exactly what is supposed to go into it otherwise than the tofu itself. I like it pretty simple. You could definitely add lots of other ingredients such as diced chinese mushrooms and green onions. Actually, my mom usually adds green onions but I'm just not a huge fan of them. Feel free to include them.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Package Smooth Tofu (cut in cubes)
1/2 lb. Ground Pork
1 clove Garlic (minced)
1 tbsp. Ground Bean Sauce
1 tbsp. Chili Bean Sauce
1 tbsp. + 1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Corn Starch
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Oil
Cornstarch Slurry (1 tbsp. Corn Starch, 1 tbsp. Sugar, 1 tsp. Pepper and 2 tbsp. Water)

DIRECTIONS:

Marinade ground pork with corn starch, soy sauce, sesame oil, 1 tsp. sugar and black pepper, then set aside.

Heat up wok and add oil. Once oil is hot, add garlic. Stirfry garlic until slightly browned, then add ground bean sauce, chili bean sauce and sugar.

Once the sauces are blended, add the ground pork. When the ground pork is cooked, gently add the tofu and blend carefully.

Once the tofu is blended, add the cornstarch slurry and allow the sauce to thicken. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. You may need to add a little sugar as the two sauces are salty.

Remove from wok and serve!

Stir Fried Long Beans with Pork

Long beans is another one of the veggies that I really like. I actually like them cooked enough so they are quite tender, but if you like them to still have a little bit of a snap, I would fry them for only a short time.

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb. Long Beans (cut into 1" pieces)
1/2 lb. Ground Pork
1 tbsp. Ground Bean Sauce
1 tbsp. Chili Bean Sauce
2 Bird's Eye Chilies
1 tbsp. Dried Shrimp
2 tbsp. + 1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Corn Starch
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tsp. Black Pepper
1 clove Garlic (minced)
1/4 cup Oil
(Cornstarch Slurry: 1 tbsp. Corn Starch, 1 tbsp. Sugar, 1 tsp. Pepper and 2 tbsp. Water)

DIRECTIONS:

Marinade ground pork with corn starch, soy sauce, sesame oil, 1 tsp. sugar and black pepper, then set aside.

Heat up wok and add 1/4 cup of oil. Once oil is hot, add long beans. Ensure beans are dry or there will be a lot of splatter. Also, try to spread beans on wok so that there is one layer. You may want to fry them in a couple of batches. Once the beans are slightly browned and tender, remove from wok and set aside.

Pour out majority of oil from the wok until there is only about a tsp. left. Add garlic and dried shrimp and saute until slighly browned and fragrant. Add ground bean sauce, chili bean sauce and sugar, then mix until combined.

Add ground pork and bird's eye chilies to the wok. When the pork is cooked, return long beans to the wok. Add corn starch slurry and combine all ingredients.

Taste and adjust as necessary. May need more sugar as both bean sauces are salty.

Remove from wok and serve!

Pickled Plum Spare Ribs

This has truly been a transition period in my life, and I'm happy to report that I am slowly returning to activities that I have not able to fit in (such as blogging). Every day, it amazes me at how quickly Jory is growing. I know all the sacrifices are worth it when I look at my beautiful little baby boy.

This recipe is another dish that my mom makes regularly. I love that there is a little tanginess from the pickled plums. Do be careful though, it is easy for this dish to end up salty since the pickled plums are jarred in salt water. It doesn't hurt to add a couple more spoonfuls of sugar.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. Pork Spare Ribs (cut to 1-inch pieces)
4 Pickled Plums
2 tbsp. Ground Bean sauce
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tbsp. Vinegar
1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
3 tbsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Pepper
1 tsp. Corn Starch
2 to 3 Bird's Eye Chilies

DIRECTIONS:

Add water to bottom half of steamer pot and boil water.

Rinse pickled plums as they are jarred in salt water. Once cleaned, in a small bowl, smoosh the pickled plums.

In a container that fits inside the steamer mix together the spare ribs with the smooshed pickled plums, ground bean sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, sugar, pepper, corn starch and chilies.

Steam for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, then serve with rice.

Baked Pork Chops in Tomato Sauce

Mother in law was away on a day trip today, so it was up to us to fend for ourselves. I therefore took the opportunity to make a nice meal for the remainder of the family. It was hard to juggle everything though, and I found myself in the kitchen every time I found a free moment to marinade and prep in any way possible to make the process easier before dinnertime.

I have always loved baked pork chop on rice when I go out to eat at Hong Kong style cafes. Unfortunately, I did not have any leftover rice available so I could not include the rice today's version. Fried rice is just not right when it is made with fresh rice. Generally, I would make this dish with fried rice (fried with egg, peas, diced carrots, corn and diced mushrooms) and bake everything all together.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs. Pork Chops (approximately 8 slices, bone out)
2 Eggs (beaten)
Mozzarella Cheese (or Parmesan, Cheddar), to taste
1 cup Panko Bread Crumbs

Marinade:

2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Corn Starch
2 tsp. Shaoxing Wine
2 tsp. Ginger (minced)
1 tbsp. Sesame Oil
2 tsp. Black Pepper

Sauce:

1 Onion (roughly chopped)
2 Tomatoes (cut into small chunks)
2 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 can Tomato Paste
2 tbsp. Ketchup
2 tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tbsp. Sugar
1 tbsp. Brown Sugar
2 tbsp. Milk

DIRECTIONS:

Beat the pork chops with a mallet to tenderize the meat.

Marinade the pork chops with all of the marinade ingredients and set aside for at least half an hour.


Dredge the pork chops, one at a time, in the beaten eggs and then in the Panko bread crumbs.

Heat up oil in a wok for deep frying. Once the oil is hot, lower the heat to medium. Deep fry the pork chops until golden brown on both sides and then set aside in a oven proof dish that will be large enough to hold both the pork chops and the sauce.

Preheat oven to 400F.

In a saucepan or pot, saute the garlic and onions in oil until slightly browned. Add the chopped tomatoes. When the tomatoes begin to soften, add the tomato paste, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, soy sauce, sugar and brown sugar. Add a little water if the sauce is too thick. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

Pour the sauce evenly over the pork chops. Sprinkle a layer of cheese over the top.

Bake in the oven for approximately 10 minutes or until the cheese is slightly browned on top.

Pork with Pickled Cabbage Noodle Soup

I've always found noodle soup to be very comforting food. I could actually have it pretty much every day, particularly during the colder months of the year. Unfortunately, I can't say the same for the hubby. He's actually not a noodle fan at all, particularly not noodle in soup. He'll have the odd bowl of Vietnamese beef noodle soup, but that's really it. So much to my chagrin, I can't say that I'll be blogging a whole lot about noodles and/or noodles in soup. I can only hope that the little one who is on his way to the world right now, may have more similar tastes in food, since he is feeding directly from me right now.

When I saw the Tan Tan Men recipe on Noodle Fever's website, I thought it would be a great recipe to adapt to one of my favorite lunch items to order, pork with pickled cabbage noodle soup. Plus, I was able to add a bit of spice to it, which is usually absent in the one that I order at lunchtime, but feel free to leave out the chili powder and bird's eye chilies.

adapted from Noodle Fever's Tan Tan Men Recipe
INGREDIENTS

Pork Broth

2 lbs. Meaty Pork Bones
Water to cover
3 slices of Ginger
1 tbsp. Black Peppercorns
2 Star Anises
¼ cup Chinese Rice Wine (Michiu)
Salt to taste
1 package of Oriental Flour Noodles (thin or thick - whatever you prefer)
Baby Bok Choy

Pork Topping

1 lbs. Lean Ground Pork
1 tbsp. Ginger (minced)
2 Bird's Eye Chilies (finely sliced)
2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 tbsp. Chili Bean Paste
1 tbsp Chinese Sesame Paste
400 Grams Pickled Cabbage (rinse, squeezing out moisture or they will be too salty)
1 tsp. Chili Powder (optional)
2 Bird's Eye Chilies (finely sliced - optional)
1 tsp. Corn Starch
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tbsp. Sesame Oil
3 tsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tbsp Oil

DIRECTIONS

Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add pork bones and cook until they are no longer bloody. As soon as there is no more redness, drain into a strainer and rinse pork bones with water.

Return pork bones to pot and fill pot with water until bones are covered. Add ginger, peppercorns and star anises and bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, add the rice wine. Lower heat and simmer for at least an hour (preferably at least a couple of hours).

Add salt, tasting to ensure it is flavourful enough.

Marinate lean ground pork with corn starch, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and black pepper.

In another bowl, mix sauce ingredients together: chili bean paste, sesame paste and chili powder. If it seems a little gloppy, add a little water and/or sesame oil (the sesame paste can be very glutinous).

Heat up wok and add oil. Add ginger and garlic until fragrant.

Add lean ground pork, breaking up any large pieces with a wok spatula.

When the pork is mostly cooked, add bird's eye chilies and the sauce mixture. Stir until everything is combined well..

Add the pickled cabbage continuing to stir until pork is cooked through. Taste and adjust as needed (may need sugar depending on the saltiness of the pickled cabbage). Turn heat to low and cover to keep warm.

In another pot, boil water. Cook noodles according to the instructions of the packaging. If your pot is large enough, add baby bok choy. If pot is not large enough, you will have to boil them separately. Strain both.

To serve, place noodles and baby bok choy in a bowl, add the topping, then add broth.

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Patties

Coordinating these fancy theme nights is pretty hard while being 8 months pregnant. I have to say that at some point during the cooking/setting up process, it does end up being a bit of a comedy for anyone watching (hopefully no one). I will inevitably forget that I’m doing something, all while I’m doing it. For example: I could place a dish in the microwave (to keep it warm while cooking something else), then I could be setting the table, and remember I should take the dish out of the microwave. While I’m heading towards the microwave, I could forget I was doing that and instead get the dog’s food ready and then wonder what the heck I was doing in the first place. Another incident could be that I would start setting the table and place something like the side plates on the table, head back to the cupboard thinking I should get the side plates, then wonder why there are so few side plates in the cupboard. Frightening…yep…I know…the joys of pregnancy…

In terms of this recipe, this is another great dish to go with vermicelli/rice and all of the Vietnamese fixings (pickled carrots/daikon, veggies…etc.). Having the patties, along with a few spring rolls in a bowl of vermicelli or a plate of rice also makes for a great combo. To top it off, if you have any leftovers, try making a sandwich! Hubby was quite proud that he created a sandwich with leftovers patties the next day. I would’ve liked to have taken a picture of that!

INGREDIENTS

1.5 Lbs. Ground Pork
1 head of Garlic – about 12 cloves (minced)
2 tbsp. Black Pepper
¼ cup Sugar
1 tbsp. Salt
2.5 tbsp. Baking Powder
1/8 cup Water
1 tbsp. caramel sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, combine ground pork, garlic, black pepper, sugar, and salt. Mix the ingredients thoroughly.

Combine the baking powder with water and whisk until you get a nice foam. Add it to the pork and fold it in with the mixture. Incorporate caramel sauce if using. This makes the patty have a nice shine after grilling.

Marinate in the fridge for at least 1-2 hours (overnight if possible). This will make it easier to form the patties.

Form patties by using the lid of a jar, a small sauce dish, a cookie cutter, or your palms. You can also form them into more of a meatball shape if you prefer.

Heat up grill and add oil. Grill about 5 minutes on each side depending on the size of the patties. If you do not want to grill all of the patties, line the patties with wax paper so they don’t stick together and freeze the remainder.

Serve with rice or vermicelli and Vietnamese dipping sauce (see Lemongrass Pork Chops recipe).

Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Cha Gio)

One of my fondest memories of spending time with my mom was learning how to wrap spring rolls. I often joke about how my fingers would be slapped for not squeezing them in the proper way to form the perfect spring roll. After rolling about a million spring rolls in my lifetime now though, I could honestly say that I understand the exact gentle squeezing pressure needed to form the perfect round spring roll. I think my parents even will agree that I roll a better spring roll than them now (from the fear of having slapped fingers…j/k). In any case, I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is definitely a lot of work, but well worth the effort the moment you take a bite at the end of the long process (or manage to steal one during the cooking process which seems to happen very often – just checking that it’s cooked right?).

INGREDIENTS

2 Lbs. Ground Pork
½ lb. Shrimp (cut up in small pieces)
1 Taro Root (grated)
3 Carrots (grated)
1 Onion (cut up in small pieces)
1 cup Black Fungus (minced)
1 cup Bean Sprouts (cut up in small pieces)
5 oz. Cellophane Noodles
1/3 cup Fish Sauce
3 tbsp. Sugar
3 tbsp. Pepper
3 tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 eggs
2 Packages of Spring Roll Pastry (6” Square)
Oil for Deep Frying
1 tbsp. Flour

DIRECTIONS

In a large bowl, mix together ground pork, shrimp, taro root, carrots, onions, black fungus, bean sprouts, and cellophane noodles. When everything is incorporated, add fish sauce, sugar, pepper, sesame oil and soy sauce and mix well. Beat eggs in a small bowl and then add to the large bowl and combine. Marinate overnight.

Leave spring roll pastry in the freezer until almost ready to wrap because the pastry dries out very quickly. Prior to wrapping, if you are using, as suggested in my ingredients list, the 6” square, you may want to cut the pastry into fours, and separate the wraps to allow for quick wrapping. However, remember after you have cut and separated, put the pastry wrappers back in the bag so they won’t dry out. If you don’t want to cut the wrappers into fours, there is a smaller size of spring roll pastry that you can buy, but I think the size of the spring roll end up being a bit bigger.

In a small sauce dish, mix the flour with a little bit of water until it is a paste. Pull out the filling from the fridge and you are ready to wrap your spring rolls.

On a plate, set your wrapper in front of you so that an edge is facing you (diamond shape). Place approximately 1 tbsp. of filling on the bottom half. Take the bottom corner and fold over the filling and squeeze gently. Fold both the left side corner, then the right side corner, then squeeze gently while rolling forward. Seal the spring roll with a dab of the flour/water paste. Repeat until all the filling is used up.

Heat up oil in a deep frying or in a wok. When oil is very hot, place enough spring rolls to fill the width of deep fryer or wok without overlapping. If you are frying in a wok, you will have to flip half way through (approximately 3-4 minutes per side). It should take approximately 8 minutes in the deep fryer. Repeat until spring rolls are all cooked. (If you decide to not cook all the spring rolls, you must freeze the remainder as soon as possible)

Arrange on a platter and serve with Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nước chấm) (See Lemongrass Pork Chops blog for recipe).

Stir Fried Pickled Turnips with Pork

This is another dish that I grew up with that I love! I can literally sit at the dinner table and pick at the pickled turnips until I’ve eaten practically the whole thing. It is basically a comfort food for me. This is also one of the first dishes that I asked my mom to teach me to cook. Hopefully, I’m doing her proud!

INGREDIENTS

1 Lb. lean Pork (strips)
1 cup of Carrots (strips)
1 cup of Pickled Turnips
2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 Bird’s Eye Chilies
1 tsp. Corn Starch
2 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tbsp. Sesame Oil
3 tsp. Sugar
2 tsp. Black Pepper
2 tsp. Dark Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Oil

DIRECTIONS

Soak picked turnips in hot water (you may want to do this in advance).

Marinade pork with corn starch, 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tsp. black pepper.

Rinse pickled turnips and squeeze out as much of the moisture as possible. You may want to taste a turnip to see if enough of the saltiness has been removed. As the turnip pieces may be too thick, cut into thinner strips. Marinate turnips with 1 tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tbsp. sesame oil, 1 tsp. sugar, 1 tsp. black pepper and 1 tsp. dark soy sauce.

Heat up wok and add 1 tsp. oil. Stir fry 1 clove of garlic until browned, then add pickled turnips. Sprinkle 1 tsp. sugar on top. Add a little water to cover most of the turnips. When turnips are a little softened, add carrots. When water has evaporated, remove turnips and carrots from wok.

Heat up wok again and add 1 tsp. oil. Stir fry 1 clove of garlic until browned. Add marinated pork and stir fry until mostly cooked, then add bird’s eye chilies. Once pork is cooked, return pickled turnips and carrots to the wok. Add 1 tsp dark soy sauce and continue to stir fry until everything is combined. Taste and adjust as necessary (you may need a little more sugar or a little more dark soy sauce).

Remove from wok and serve!

Indonesian Sate (Sate Babi and Sate Ayam Bumbu Kecap/Kacang)

A person once told me that they thought that an individual is not a good cook unless they could instinctively know how to make dishes without a recipe. After reflecting on the matter through all of my cooking endeavors, I can honestly state that I disagree. Everyone has to go through their own trials and tribulations, and I believe that the need for a recipe does not in itself make the individual an inept cook in any sense. We are also obviously not born with an apron on and a knife at hand either. We could certainly hope that at some point in our lives, there would be a time when we are intuitive enough to make some dishes instinctively. However, I believe in life we are all going through a journey, and part of the process is to learn from others and then adjust as needed to adapt whatever it is into our own lives. I guess this is why it is so important to taste during the cooking process. We all have preferences, and it is up to ourselves to adjust the seasoning to our liking. It is also at this time that we can tweak any recipe to possibly make it even better than the original.

The third entry of my Indonesian themed dishes is Indonesian Sate (Sate Babi and Sate Ayam Bumbu Kecap/Kacang). I used pork for my skewers, but the same recipe can be used for chicken. I think this recipe, also from the Rasa Malaysia website, would be great for barbecuing in the summertime. Our family is big on barbecues, so it is always nice to find another option since it is inevitable that we will be holding a slew of barbecues throughout the summer. I found that even without the dipping sauce, the pork was quite flavorful. We did end up using the peanut sauce for dipping though. It could also be eaten alone or just with some more Kecap Manis.

MARINADE

Cut your meat into bite sized cubes, and marinate with:
a good sprinkle of Garlic Salt
a couple dashes of ground Paprika
a dash of White Pepper
2 tsp. ground Coriander seeds
2 tsp. ground Nutmeg
1 tsp. Cumin
1 tsp. Olive Oil
2 cloves of Shallot (thinly sliced)
A dash of Soy Sauce
Lots of Kecap Manis (You want them to be almost drowned in this)

Marinate for a few hours, or for best result, let it marinate overnight in the fridge.

The skewering:

The next day, stick the meat cubes with the bamboo skewers. I stick 4-5 pieces of meat cubes per sate with some pieces of onion. If you’re using meat with fatty bits, mix fatty and lean meat cubes in each skewer

GRILLING

Before grilling, squeeze a bit of lime juice over the sate.

While grilling, baste the sate with a mix of:

Kecap Manis, this should be the dominant flavor
a dash of Fish Sauce
a clove of thinly sliced Shallot
juice of half a Lime

SAUCE

1 cup of roasted Peanuts (or use crunchy peanut butter)
1 clove of Garlic
2 cloves Shallot
1 tsp. ground Cumin
2 tsp. ground Coriander seeds
1 small block of Palm Sugar (or replace with brown sugar)
dash of Salt
dash of White Pepper
a bit of Olive Oil

Process everything in a food processor until well mixed.

Lemongrass Pork Chops (Suong Nuong Xa)

This recipe is one of my mom’s specialties. As I was growing up, I’m embarrassed to say that because my mom never distinguished the difference between Vietnamese and Chinese cuisine, I spent a large portion of my life believing that the Vietnamese dishes that she cooked, were actually Chinese. Imagine my surprise when I finally realized it on my own later on in life. I am however very glad to have had the Vietnamese influence in the foods that I ate growing up, particularly because of their use of fresh and tangy ingredients.

I would have liked to have pounded the pork chops so they were a little thinner, but alas…I didn’t even realize we had a meat tenderizer until hubby and my mother in law told me that it was hidden in the oven drawer when we were already eating. My mom generally pounds them until they are extremely thin, and therefore, the flavors of all the marinade ingredients seem to be even more infused in the chops. I guess I will know for next time.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb Pork Chops (approximately 4 slices, bone out)
2 tbsp. Fish Sauce
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 tbsp. Sugar
2 stalks of fresh Lemongrass (minced, or use 2 tbsp. of already minced Lemongrass)
1 Shallot (minced)
2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
1 tbsp. Oil

VIETNAMESE DIPPING SAUCE (Nước chấm)

½ cup Water
2 tbsp. Fish Sauce
2 tbsp. of Lime juice or the juice of 1-2 Limes (Vinegar can be used in a pinch)
2 cloves of Garlic (minced)
2 tbsp. Sugar
2 Bird’s Eye Chilies (finely chopped) (Optional)

DIRECTIONS

Pound pork chops with a meat tenderizer until they are very thin. In a large bowl, marinate pork with fish sauce, soy sauce, black pepper, sugar, lemongrass, shallot, garlic and oil. Marinate pork for at least a couple of hours (preferably overnight).

These pork chops are probably best cooked on a barbecue grill, however, a pan will also do the trick.

Served preferably with broken rice, Cơm tấm (you can either buy broken rice or break your own rice by allowing the rice to soak a little while, and then crushing by hand before cooking in the rice cooker), pickled vegetables and a fried egg. Drizzle generously with Vietnamese dipping sauce before eating.