Sunday Nite Dinner » sauce

Zha Ziang Mian (Chinese Spaghetti)

Chuck — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:43:32 +0000

Zha ziang mian, aka Chinese spaghetti, is one of Hungry Bear's favorite comfort dishes. It has everything she likes... sweet, salty, spicy and carbs! The rich meaty sauce is nicely contrasted by the cool refreshing vegetable garnish.

It's a popular item in Northern China and legend has it that Marco Polo got his inspiration for Italian spaghetti after spending time in China. Growing up, Hungry Bear often had this dish served with regular spaghetti noodles, but it's best served with Chinese noodles. We included a photo of the brand we like in the slideshow.

The ingredient list looks long, but it's actual quite easy to make. So the next time you want some spaghetti and meat sauce, give this Chinese version a try.

Zha Ziang Mian Recipe

SND Note: Drain the pork fat to make the dish a little less greasy, but you may need to add a splash of chicken stock to prevent it from becoming too dry.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons bean sauce
5 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (optional)
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 pounds ground pork
3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
3 tablespoons green onions, minced
1 pound Chinese noodles
1/2 English cucumber, julienned
2 carrots, julienned
1 cup bean sprouts

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the bean, hoisin, chili garlic and soy sauces; reserve and set aside.
Heat a large wok over high heat. Add the oil and swirl to coat. Toss in the garlic and ginger; cook until it's fragrant about 10-15 seconds. Add the pork, stir constantly to break apart meat. Cook until just a bit of pink remains and it begins to brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add the wine and stir for a few seconds.
Pour in the reserved sauce and stir to thoroughly coat the pork, until sauce is heated through. Add the green onions and toss to combine well. Serve pork over noodles and garnish with cucumber, carrots and bean sprouts.

Makes 6 servings

[Adapted from The Seventh Daughter by Cecilia Chiang]

Tags: chinese, hoisin, noodles, pork, sauce

Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce (Tuong Ot Toi)

Chuck — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 01:51:46 +0000

Hungry Bear and I were snowboarding in Whistler the last five days. We had a great time on the slopes and relaxed in a very posh hotel with a ski concierge service... talk about being pampered! But after five days of eating ski resort food, Hungry Bear had a major craving for rice and I needed something spicy. I was definitely going through chili pepper withdrawal, especially from my homemade Vietnamese chili garlic sauce (tuong ot toi).

I grew up using Huy Fong's Rooster sauces — Sriracha chili sauce in pho and other soups, and tuong ot toi in just about everything else. Over the years, as my heat tolerance grew, I began eating fresh chili peppers and trying out other hot sauces. But I've never found a really good hot sauce. Most were too vinegary, too smokey or generally overpowering. All I wanted was heat to enhance my meal and not interfere with the flavors of the dish.

These days I just have a fresh chili pepper or some homemade chili garlic sauce with my food. My parents started making their own tuong ot toi around ten years ago. They wanted something hotter and fresher than the Rooster sauce. The end result was an habanero chili garlic sauce that is a blast of pure heat with a wonderful floral aroma. The sauce is not cooked and is a simple puree of chili peppers, garlic, salt, sugar and vinegar.

I am completely addicted to the sauce and can't imagine going back to the Rooster chili garlic sauce. The homemade sauce contains no preservatives and can be adjusted to taste — from chili selection to sugar, salt and vinegar balance. Depending on the pepper you choose, the sauce can vary from relatively mild to scorching hot. Either way, the chili garlic sauce will be a fresh and spicy complement to any dish.

Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce Recipe (Tuong Ot Toi)

SND Note: The choice of chili peppers is up to you and your heat tolerance. To reduce the heat of the sauce, add more sugar and vinegar. Alternatively, you can add bell peppers to reduce the spiciness.

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh chilies (Habanero, Thai, Serrano, jalapeno, etc.), washed and stemmed
6-8 cloves garlic
4 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:
1) Roughly chop chilies if using large peppers. Place chilies, garlic, vinegar, salt and sugar in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely pureed. Adjust sugar, salt and vinegar to taste. Transfer to a small sealable jar and refrigerate.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups and will last several months in the fridge

Related Recipes

Several months ago, I shared this chili garlic sauce recipe with Andrea Nguyen of Viet World Kitchen. She made a variation of my parent's recipe along with a cooked version by another one of her readers. And here's another adaptation of tuong ot toi from Holy Basil.

Tags: chili, chili garlic sauce, easy, garlic, sauce, spicy, tuong ot toi, vietnamese

Goi Cuon with Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce

Chuck — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 07:51:22 +0000

Vietnamese fresh spring rolls? Summer rolls? Salad rolls? What do you call these things? It's goi cuon in Vietnamese. The literally translation is salad (goi) roll (cuon). Whatever you call them, they are light, refreshing and delicious. Most restaurants serve salad rolls with nuoc cham, a fish sauce based dipping sauce, but did you know, it's ten times better with a spicy peanut Hoisin sauce.

A few weeks ago, Hungry Bear had a major craving for goi cuon after Nikki, a.k.a. Canary Girl, asked me to share my recipe. My version is a common shrimp and pork salad roll recipe that most Viet people make. As long as the ingredients are fresh, especially the lettuce and herbs, the salad rolls are going to be good.

I made goi cuon this past Sunday night as part of our Vietnamese/Chinese New Year celebration dinner with our SND friends. Every time I make a batch of salad rolls, I have more respect for my mom's ability to crank these things out. They are easy to make, but time consuming to prep and roll. My mom can probably roll 2 or 3 batches in the time I can make one. Next time, I'm just going to do the prep work and we'll have a salad roll rolling party.

Now to the best part, my Dad's spicy peanut Hoisin sauce. This peanut sauce completely rocks! And it's super easy to make, taking only five minutes. The sauce relegates the goi cuon to just a delivery device to get the peanut sauce into my mouth. It's a great combination of spicy, sweet, salty and creamy. The next time you make Vietnamese salad rolls, dip it in this spicy peanut Hoisin sauce and you won't ever go back to nuoc cham!

Vietnamese Salad Rolls (Goi Cuon) Recipe

SND Note: Poached shrimp and pork are the traditional proteins used in goi cuon, but can be substituted with grilled meats or tofu. Different herbs can be added, such as basil and Vietnamese coriander (rau ram), choose your favorite ones. The rolls are best when served within a couple hours after rolling. Don't wait too long or refrigerate them as the rice paper will dry out and become tough.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound small shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 pound pork tenderloin
8 ounces thin rice vermicelli noodles
1 head butter lettuce, washed and ribs removed
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
1 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, removed from stems
1 English cucumber or seeded regular cucumber, thinly sliced
16-20 garlic chives or Chinese chives
1 package rice paper (banh trang)

Directions:
1) Fill a small saucepan half full of water, add salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the shrimp, reduce heat to simmer for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Do not discard water. Remove the shrimp with slotted spoon and set aside to cool.

2) Trim fat from pork and return water to a boil. Reduce heat and poach pork in water at a low simmer, about 15-18 minutes or until cooked through. Remove pork and set aside to cool. Reserve light stock to make peanut Hoisin sauce.

3) Follow package directions and cook rice vermicelli noodles.

4) Lay shrimp flat and cut in half horizontally. Cut tenderloin in half lengthwise. Then cut across the grain to create thin slices of pork. Set shrimp and pork aside.

5) Fill a medium bowl with warm water and quickly dip and spin a piece of rice paper into water; make sure to wet the entire piece. Lay it down on a cutting board. Place a lettuce leaf at the lower end of the rice paper. Add rice noodles, pork, mint, cucumber and cilantro evenly across the rice paper. [See the slideshow for pictures of the rolling process.]

6) Roll the rice paper over the filling and tuck it underneath. Add shrimp with the sliced side facing up. Fold the sides inwards and add a chive over shrimp with 1 inch sticking outside of a folded side. Continue rolling while keeping tension on the rice paper for a tight roll. The roll will seal itself.

7) Repeat steps 5 and 6 until shrimp and pork are finished off. Serve with peanut Hoisin dipping sauce.

Makes 16-18 rolls to serve 6 to 8 as an appetizer

Spicy Peanut Hoisin Dipping Sauce Recipe (Nuoc Leo)

SND Note: This sauce is not the traditional Vietnamese peanut sauce (nuoc leo) made with liver. It's a simplified version using peanut butter. Whole soybean sauce is intact soybeans fermented in salt, water and sugar. It has a salty, sour taste. If you can't find it, substitute a little salt to taste. The sauce is on the thick side with a consistency of a dense Dijon mustard when cooled.

Ingredients:
1 cup light shrimp and pork stock (from step 2 of goi cuon recipe) or water
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon thick soy sauce
1 teaspoon whole soybean sauce, crushed
3 tablespoons of Hoisin sauce
4-6 tablespoons crunchy or creamy peanut butter (natural or organic)
2-3 teaspoons chili garlic sauce or diced chilies to taste
1 ounce dry roasted peanuts, chopped

Directions:
1) In a small sauce pan, add light stock and garlic. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.

2) Add thick soy sauce, crushed soybean sauce, Hoisin sauce, 4 tablespoons peanut butter and chili garlic sauce. Stir until peanut butter is dissolved and the sauce thickens. Add additional peanut butter until desired thickness is obtained. Adjust seasonings to taste. Garnish sauce with chopped peanuts.

Makes almost 2 cups of sauce

Tags: dipping, goi cuon, peanut butter, peanuts, pork, sauce, shrimp, spring rolls, vietnamese

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham)

Chuck — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 06:23:36 +0000

I have a lot of friends who love Vietnamese dipping sauce (nuoc cham). When they ask me for the recipe, I tell them it's a closely guarded family secret. However, I have finally received permission from my parents to disclose the formula. It took a lot of groveling on my part and even a few tears were shed, but I got their blessing.

Okay, I made the last part up, but wouldn't it be more special if it really was a secret? Anyway, every Vietnamese family has a dipping sauce recipe. The ingredients in nuoc cham are generally the same, but the proportions vary based on personal tastes and regions in Vietnam. According to Vietnamese cookbook author, Andrea Nguyen, "as you move south the sauce gets sweeter, hotter, and more garlicky."

This may explain why I don't like the nuoc cham made in San Francisco restaurants, which are generally too sweet for my tastes. My family is from the middle part of the country and I was born in Da Nang. It all makes sense now.

As you gain experience with this dipping sauce, adjust it to suit your preferences. There's no secret formula. It's just a simple sauce with a great blend of salty, sour, sweet and spicy. For some meals, I like adding or substituting ginger for the garlic (nuoc cham gung). The ginger dipping sauce is great with a meal of roasted duck and sticky rice.

I'm going to post the recipe for my mom's crab and shrimp egg roll (cha gio) shortly, which requires nuoc cham. To whet your appetite, I leave you with this picture.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham) Recipe

SND Note: This recipe is how my family likes our nuoc cham. Adjust the ingredients to your tastes, particularly the lime since the juice varies with each fruit. To make a ginger dipping sauce (nuoc cham gung), add 1 tablespoon of minced ginger.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fish sauce (Viet Huong Three Crabs brand)
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 of a lime, juiced
3-4 cloves of garlic , minced
2-3 Thai chili pepper, minced

Directions:
1) In a small sealable jar, combine water and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add fish sauce, vinegar and lime juice and mix. Adjust flavors to taste.

2) Add garlic and chili pepper. The sauce can be stored at room temperature, if served the same day. Otherwise, store it in the refrigerator.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups

Tags: cha gio, chilies, dipping, easy, ginger, limes, nuoc cham, nuoc mam, sauce, vietnamese