Suon Rang--Vietnamese Glazed Spareribs

The end of the semester along with an unexpected opportunity to substitute for a friend at the school where I used to teach has limited my posting recently.  The end of the semester is always a busy time getting finals ready and finishing grading.  The substitute position was a surprise because with cuts in the budget for adult education, the district no longer hires substitutes when teachers are sick or have jury duty; classes are simply canceled.  The director of the division loathes to pay for a substitute when also paying sick leave for the absent teacher.  Because her father, who himself has bone cancer, is no longer able to adequately care for his wife, who is terminally ill with cancer while also suffering from Alzheimer's, my friend had to take a family leave of absence to care for her parents.  Since the school district isn't paying her, the director agreed to pay for a substitute.  This is the state of compassion and education in present day America.

Although I agreed to substitute primarily because I wanted to help out a friend, I've greatly enjoyed her classes.  If only the people responsible for funding education could see how important these classes are to our community.  Besides recent college graduates from other countries, there is an orthodontist who fled the violence and fear of kidnapping in Mexico, a pharmacist from Algeria who is working at Del Taco, a psychologist from Spain,  and a young, former accounting executive for Coca Cola in Africa in one of the classes.  One of the Chinese students is also fluent in Japanese, married to a neurological researcher working at the UC Davis medical center.  Many of them are already fluent in several languages, but without greater fluency in English they are reduced to working in fast food restaurants or other such menial jobs.  Yet, the only reason they even have a class now is that their regular teacher is forced to go without pay in order to take care of a dying parent.  Merry Christmas!

On to the main point of this blog, I suppose.  The food.  Today's dish is a tasteful recipe for spareribs.  It has the characteristically Vietnamese combination of salty (from the fish and soy sauce) and sweet (from sugar).  I served them with quick pickled beansprouts and carrots, the pickled vegetables a nice counter balance to the richness of the spareribs.  The recipe is from Nicole Routhier's The Foods of Vietnam, the first Vietnamese cookbook I ever bought and still one of my favorites.  In the future, I think I'll deep fry the ribs in the first part of the recipe as stir frying them requires a large wok and a great deal of patience to cook them through.  I used my 22-inch wok to stir-fry the ribs, a smaller wok will probably require you to cook them in batches if you don't choose to deep fry them.  Another option would be to grill them before the final step of glazing them and stir frying them with the vegetables.  The important thing is to make sure they are cooked through before doing the final glaze.

Suong Rang--Vietnamese Glazed Spareribs

printable recipe

1 TBS oil
3 lbs pork spareribs, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 TBS sugar
2 TBS fish sauce
1 TBS soy sauce
2 medium onions, each cut into eighths and separated
8 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips
1 bunch of green onions, cut into 2-inch pieces
freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan.  Add the ribs and cook on both sides until browned and almost cooked through, 25 minutes or longer.  (Alternatively, deep fry the ribs in batches, about 6--8 minutes, or grill over hot coals until almost cooked through.)

Add the sugar to the ribs and cook, stirring, for another ten minutes.

Pour off all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the wok.  Add the fish sauce and soy sauce and stir for five minutes.  Add the onions, garlic, and peppers and stir-fry  just until onions are lightly browned and peppers are becoming soft.  Season with pepper and remove to a serving platter.  Garnish with cilantro if you so desire.  Serve with steamed rice and pickled beansprouts and carrots.

Pickled Bean Sprouts

1 pound fresh bean sprouts, tails removed if you wish
1 bunch of green onions, cut into 2-inch lengths
1 TBS salt
4 cups water
1/2 cup distilled white vinegar.

Place the sprouts and green onions in a large, non-reactive bowl.

Combine the salt, water and vinegar in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt. Cool until warm to the touch.  Pour this over the bean sprout mixture and stir.  Marinate for at least one hour, or until ready to serve.  Drain before serving.

These are best eaten on the day they are made.  Don't marinate too long or they will become limp.

Pickled carrots

3 carrots
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rice vinegar
1 TBS sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Peel carrots and cut into julienned strips or thin rounds.  Combine the water, vinegar, sugar, and salt in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil.  Remove and let cool to room temperature.  Add the carrots to the vinegar mixture and allow to marinate for at leas one hour.  Drain and serve.

I was sorry to see that Delicious Vietnam, the monthly blogging event founded by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey and Hong and Kim of The Ravenous Couple is coming to an end.  It will still exist here in the world of Facebook apparently, but not as a monthly event.  Anh, one of its founders, is hosting the final addition of Delicious Vietnam.  Interested participants have until the final day of 2011 to take part and have a chance to win some wonderful prizes.  For more detailed information, please go here.

I may try to get in another entry, but for now, this will have to do.  I must say I've enjoyed participating in and having the chance to host several of the round-ups of Delicious Vietnam over the past few years.  I hope it will continue to thrive on Facebook.

Delicious Vietnam--Chi Lang Profiteroles with Caramel Rum Sauce

The first thing someone usually says to me when they hear I have a blog called Javaholic is "oh, so you write about coffee."  And then I explain that no, my blog is not about coffee or coffeehouses, but deals mostly with Indonesian and Southeast Asian food, with a leaning towards the food of Java.  In fact, I believe this is my first post in the two and a half years the blog has been in existence that coffee is the primary focus of the post.  And then it's for Vietnamese coffee.  As the basis for ice cream.

Although not a focus of this blog, I do drink several cups of coffee almost every day,  and have done so for most of the last thirty-five years or so.  I like my coffee black, no sugar, no milk--kopi pahit in Indonesia, kopi o kosong in Singapore and Malaysia, cafe den in Vietnam. However, I occasionally enjoy a glass of cafe sua da, Vietnamese iced-coffee with sweetened condensed milk.  So when I came across a recipe for Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream in David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop, I decided to use it as the basis for my submission to this month's Delicious Vietnam.

(Follow the jump for the recipe and the rest of the story.)

Lotus Stem Salad with Shrimp--Goi Ngo Sen

 Although I spent several years living and working in Vietnamese refugees camps, lived in Vietnam for close to a year, and have visited the country half a dozen times, I don't think I had ever had this salad until a student brought it to a potluck in my class in Sacramento several years ago.  Essentially a salad of lotus stems and rau ram dressed with nuoc cham and topped with poached shrimp, it is a delightfully refreshing salad.  Served with some freshly fried shrimp chips which I had recently received from our friends in Vietnam, it made for a perfect lunch for a recent birthday.

This is an easy salad to put together.  The dressing can be easily adapted to your tastes, decreasing the sugar if you prefer a sharper dressing, increasing it if you prefer a sweeter one.  You may omit the garlic and chili from the dressing if you like; I prefer the note the chili adds.  Although freshly fried shallots are vastly superior to the ones you can buy in Asian markets, I used the purchase variety and they were satisfactory (and much, much easier).

I adapted this from several recipes.  One source was Authentic Recipes from Vietnam, a book that has a number of good recipes.  Another source was Mai Pham's Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table.  Pham gives the useful tip of stirring the cut stems for several minutes with disposable bamboo chopsticks while in a bowl of water.  The hair-like fibers from the cut stems wind around the bamboo.  Regular chopsticks don't work because they are too smooth. 

Goi Ngo Sen--Lotus Stem Salad with Shrimp

printable recipe

6 to 8 shrimp, poached, peeled, and halved lengthwise
1 8 oz jar of lotus stems, drained, cut into 2-inch lengths on the diagonal
3--5 TBS rau ram (daun laksa/Vietnamese coriander) chopped
2 TBS fried shallots
2--3 TBS roasted peanuts, chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 red chili, seeded and minced
2--4 tsp fish sauce
2 TBS fresh lime juice
1 1/2--2 TBS sugar

First, make the dressing by mixing the garlic, chili, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar.  Stir well to completely dissolve the sugar. 

After stirring the cut stems with the disposable chopsticks or bamboo skewers in a bowl of water for several minutes, drain.  Place in a shallow bowl and add the dressing and rau ram.  Mix well.  Place the halved shrimp on top.  Sprinkle with shallots and peanuts.  Serve with shrimp crackers.

I am submitting this to Delicious Vietnam #13, a monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese food.  Founded by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey, and Kim and Hong of Ravenous Couple, Delicious Vietnam welcomes submissions from bloggers around the world.   The roundup for Delicious Vietnam #13 will be hosted by Jing of My fusion kitchen. More information can be found here. Check out the roundup to find the details on who will be hosting Delicious Vietnam #14.

Ca Ri Ga--Vietnamese Chicken Curry

Chicken curry comes in many guises.  There is jungle curry from Laos and northern Thailand that doesn't include coconut milk, red and green curries from central and southern Thailand, variations throughout Malaysia and Indonesia, other variations from India, and then there is ca ri ga, Vietnamese chicken curry.  I don't believe I've yet had a chicken curry that I haven't enjoyed, but of all of them the Vietnamese version is my favorite.  It is spicy, but not incendiary, with a nice balance of coconut milk in its base.  Served with a freshly baked baguette, it made for an especially comforting dinner on an unseasonably cool spring night.

There are many recipes for ca ri ga out there.  Although I have tried many of them, I keep coming back to this one, which I have been using for the last twenty years or so.  Its use of both curry powder and curry paste, the use of less coconut milk than some other recipes, and the frying of the potatoes before adding them to the sauce are what set this curry apart.  Like other curries and stews, this is a dish that may be even better the next day.  It also freezes well, so you may want to double the recipe. 

The recipe comes (slightly adapted) from The Foods of Vietnam by Nicole Routhier, the first Vietnamese cookbook I ever bought and still one of my favorites.

Ca Ri Ga

3 stalks fresh lemongrass, tender, lower third only, chopped
4 shallots, peeled and chopped
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
2 to 3 fresh red chile peppers, seeded and chopped
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 TBS Madras curry paste
3 TBS Madras curry powder
3 TBS fish sauce
1 chicken, 3 to 4 pounds
2 large Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch thick slices
2 white-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2-inch slices
2 bay leaves
1 large onion, cut into eighths
2 large ripe tomatoes, core, seeded and cut into eight wedges (I didn't have any tomatoes in, so left them out this time, but do think they add to the curry)
2 cups chicken stock made from backbone, neck and gizzards of the chicken
salt, to taste
2 large carrots, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 can coconut milk
2 tsp cornstarch (optional)

Cut the chicken into serving pieces, reserving the backbone, neck, and gizzards for making the stock.

In a food processor, combine the lemongrass, shallots, garlic, sugar, chilies, pepper, curry paste and powder, and fish sauce.  Process to a very fine paste.

In a pie plate or similar dish, spread the paste all over the chicken pieces .  Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the potatoes and brown on all sides. Drain the potatoes on paper towels.

Remove all but 3 tablespoons of the oil from the Dutch oven.  Scrape the paste from the chicken and reserve.  In batches to avoid crowding, add the chicken pieces to the pan and brown on all sides.  Remove the browned pieces to a clean platter.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a clay pot.  Add the paste and bay leaves to the oil . (Of course, you may choose to continue using the Dutch oven.  The advantage of using a clay pot is that it not only looks nice on the table for serving, but also retains the heat well.) Stirring to keep the paste from burning, fry for about two minutes before adding the onions.  Continue to stir and cook the onions until they are lightly browned.  Add tomatoes, and stir to coat with the paste.  Add the chicken broth and chicken pieces and bring to a boil.  Add salt to taste, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.  Add carrots and potatoes and simmer another 20 minutes.

Dissolve cornstarch in the coconut milk (or mash one of the potato pieces).  Add the coconut milk to the curry and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.  Be sure to stir during this final cooking time to prevent the curry from sticking on the bottom of the pot.

Serve in shallow bowls with rice or French bread.

I am submitting this to Delicious Vietnam #12, a monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese food.  Founded by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey, and Kim and Hong of Ravenous Couple, Delicious Vietnam welcomes submissions from bloggers around the world.  To learn how you might participate, click here.  The roundup for Delicious Vietnam #12 will be hosted by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey. Check out the roundup to find the details on who will be hosting Delicious Vietnam #13.

Vietnamese Crispy Fried Shrimp with Kumquat Salsa

 

Com dep, pounded glutinous rice flakes, make a wonderful covering for fried shrimp.  Paired with a kumquat salsa, they are a great appetizer.  Using Andrea Nguyen's Crispy Shrimp Coated with Green Rice as a jumping off point, this recipe is an amalgamation of ingredients and techniques.  It takes very little effort or time to pull together.

Andrea Nguyen has a nice description and history of com here.  For people interested in Vietnamese cooking, her cookbook, Into the Vietnamese Kitchen, is one of the best.

Vietnamese Crispy Fried Shrimp with Kumquat Salsa

12 large prawn, peeled (leaving on the tail and last segment) and deveined

1/2 cup of ginger, peeled

4 TBS water

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

5 TBS tapioca starch

1 large egg

1 tsp fish sauce

com dep--green, glutinous rice flakes (available in Vietnamese supermarkets) 

oil for deep frying

6 kumquats, seeded, chopped

2 tsp rice vinegar

1 shallot, peeled and minced

2 tsp fish sauce

2 tsp sugar

1/3 to 1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce

In a blender, puree the ginger and water.  Press through a sieve, reserving liquid. Mix in the salt and 2 teaspoons sugar.  Marinate the shrimp in this mixture for half an hour or so.  Drain the shrimp.

Mix the tapioca starch, egg and fish sauce in bowl until smooth.  Place a quarter cup or so of the rice flakes on a plate.  Heat  1 to 2 inches of oil in a wok or pan to 350º F.

Dip shrimp into the egg batter and let excess batter drip off before rolling gently in the rice flakes.  Fry several shrimp at a time for a minute or two in the oil, flipping them so both sides are evenly cooked.  Drain on paper towels.  The cooking causes some of the flakes to brown slightly, but most of the covering will remain green.

To make the salsa (which is really more of a kumquat nuoc cham), stir together the fish sauce, vinegar and sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Mix in the other ingredients.

Serve the fried shrimp with the kumquat salsa as an appetizer, or along with rice and vegetables for dinner.

I am submitting this to Delicious Vietnam #9, a monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese food.  Founded by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey, and Kim and Hong of Ravenous Couple, Delicious Vietnam welcomes submissions from bloggers around the world.  To learn how you might participate, click here.  The roundup for Delicious Vietnam #9 will be hosted by Pepy of Indonesia-Eats.  Check out the roundup to find the details on who will be hosting Delicious Vietnam #10.

Vietnamese Ahi Carpaccio--Ca Tai Chanh

While I am a fan of traditional carpaccio made with raw beef, and I also enjoyed bo tai chanh on several occasions while living in Saigon, Tjing doesn't like cooked beef and raw beef makes her shudder.  So I decided to eliminate the beef and use ahi for this dish.  The combination of the ahi with the herbs is delicious and makes an impressive starter.

The one requirement for this dish is sashimi grade ahi.  Sunh Fish in the Asian Food Market is where many of the local sushi restaurants in Sacramento get their fish.  The quality of the fish is excellent and they are just as responsive to individual customers as they are to their restaurant buyers.  They are also one of the few places I know of in Sacramento that you can find fresh squid.

The key to this dish is pristine ingredients.  Assemble the components and let diners appreciate the simple clean tastes of the herbs with the raw ahi.  

I served this with sesame cracker (banh trang me), but I could also see serving it with banh hoi brushed with scallion oil.  I had to take the pictures at night, so they are less than ideal.

Vietnamese Ahi Carpaccio--Ca Tai Chanh

1/2 pound sashimi grade ahi tuna

2 TBS lime juice

2 tsp fish sauce

scant teaspoon of sugar

1 shallot, sliced lengthwise with a mandoline to get paper thin slices

1/4 cup mixed herbs, finely sliced or chopped,

1 TBS young ginger, finely minced and briefly fried

Slice tuna into pieces 1/4 inch thick.  Place one slice between two pieces of plastic wrap.  Gently pound with a meat pounder (or rolling pin, wine bottle, or sauce pan) to about an 1/8 inch of thickness.  You don't want these to be paper thin.

Place fish in saucer with lime juice mixture for just a few minutes.  With good quality ahi there's no need for the lime juice to "cook" the fish.  

Place the slices on a plate,  and top with sliced shallots, herbs, and minced young ginger.  Serve with sesame crackers, banh hoi, or whatever you like.

I am submitting this to Delicious Vietnam #7, a monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese food.  Founded by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey, and Kim and Hong of Ravenous Couple, Delicious Vietnam welcomes submissions from bloggers around the world.  To learn how you might participate, click here.  The roundup for Delicious Vietnam #7 will be hosted by Nina, of the blog MissAdventureAtHome.  The submission deadline is November 14, 2010.  For full details on how to participate, please go to the Delicious Vietnam page at Ravenous Couple's blog.  Check out the roundup to find the details on who will be hosting Delicious Vietnam #8.

Delicious Vietnam #6 Roundup

Delicious Vietnam #6 attracted some wonderful entries, with a slant towards vegetarian dishes.  Vegetables feature prominently in Vietnamese food anyway, and at least several days a month many Vietnamese eat vegetarian dishes, so it is no surprise to see many participants posting vegetarian recipes.  All of the posts look delicious and will have you eager to try recreating them.

Anh and I both tried our hands at papaya salad, Anh's being strictly vegetarian, while mine features shrimp and fish sauce.  Here's the link to Anh's post: http://www.anhsfoodblog.com/2010/09/vietnamese-vegan-papaya-salad-delicious.html

My take on papaya salad can be found here: http://rumahmakanmurni.blogspot.com/2010/10/papaya-salad-with-grilled-shrimp-goi-u.html

Hong and Kim posted a recipe for soup with stuffed bitter melon.  Their version of canh kho qua can be found here: http://ravenouscouple.blogspot.com/2010/10/canh-kho-qua-bitter-melon-soup.html

Mai also chose to feature a soup.  She chose to post a recipe for bun bung.  Here's a link to her dish: http://www.flavorboulevard.com/bun-bung-sort-of/

Lan posted a classic Vietnamese comfort food, com ga.  I certainly wouldn't be angry about having this for dinner.  Here's the link to her post: Com Ga - Vietnamese Chicken & Rice

Pepy posted two related recipes.  She presented some delicious looking chao tom accompanied by  nuoc mam cham.  Here are the links to her dishes: http://indonesia-eats.blogspot.com/2010/10/vietnamese-dipping-fish-sauce-nuoc-mam.html and http://indonesia-eats.blogspot.com/2010/10/vietnamese-grilled-shrimp-on-sugarcane.html

Debra chose to do a vegetarian version of banh mi.  Her version features a mushroom paté and looks delicious.  Here's a link to her post:http://bearheadsoup.blogspot.com/2010/10/banh-mi-chay-delicious-vietnam-6.html

 Finally, we had several desserts.  Miss Adventure posted a recipe for a simple, yet delicious banh khoai mi.   This is just the kind of dessert my wife loves, so I'm sure I'll be giving it a try sometime soon.  The link to her post is here: http://missadventureathome.blogspot.com/2010/10/banh-khoai-mi-vietnamese-cassava.html

Julia also posted a recipe for a dessert.  Che is one of those treats that people discover when they get the chance to travel to Vietnam.  There are countless versions using a variety of ingredients.  Julia's features corn, lotus seeds and peanuts.  Here's a link to her post: http://beginnermomontherun.blogspot.com/2010/10/delicious-vietnam-6-hubsters-che-with.html

I'd like to thank everyone for their participation in Delicious Vietnam #6, the monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese food.  Thanks to Anh and Kim and Hoang for starting this monthly celebration, and for allowing me to host this month's roundup.

The host for next month is Nina, of the blog MissAdventureAtHome.  The submission deadline is November 14, 2010.  For full details on how to participate, please go to the Delicious Vietnam page at Ravenous Couple's blog.

Papaya Salad with Grilled Prawns (gỏi đu đủ với tôm nướng)

I had intended to post this last night.  Indeed, I thought I had posted it last night.  Yet, somehow when I went to make sure that it looked ok this morning, the entire post was missing except for the title.  I don't know what happened.

Papaya salad is a refreshing, typically Vietnamese style of salad featuring young, still green papaya, carrots, and rau ram, an herb that Indonesians know by the name daun laksa.  If you are unable to find this herb, mint makes a good substitute.  I often use both herbs together in the salad.

This is a very easy salad to pull together as long as you have something to julienne the vegetables.  The dressing is essentially nuoc cham and can be adjusted to meet individual preferences.  Although I added shrimp to make it a light meal, it is still delicious without shrimp.  Fried shallots and ground peanuts make for a nice garnish, but if you don't have them?  No problem.  I grilled the prawns, but you could also boil them.  In other words, this recipe is flexible and forgiving.

 

Papaya Salad with Grilled Prawns (gỏi đu đủ với tôm nướng)

1/2 small green papaya, julienned (about 2 cups)

2 to 3 carrots, julienned

2 TBS rau ram (daun laksa) or mint, finely chopped

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

Dressing

juice of 1 lime

2 TBS fish sauce

2 to 3 TBS sugar

1 to 2 cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 Thai chili, seeded and finely minced (or a splash of sriracha)

6 to 10 large prawns, peeled and deveined

1 TBS oil

Mix one TBS of the dressing with the oil.  Marinate the prawns in this for 20 minutes or so.  Grill on a hot grill for about 3 minutes, until just cooked.  Do not overcook the prawns.

Sprinkle the papaya and carrot with the sugar and salt.  Mix well to distribute the salt and sugar evenly.  After a few minutes rinse the vegetables thoroughly.  Drain then dry well between paper towels. 

In a serving bowl mix the vegetables with the chopped herbs.  Add the dressing and toss well.  Place the cooked prawns on top of the salad.  If you like, garnish with fried shallots and chopped peanuts.  I sprinkled on some toasted sesame seeds because I had some on hand.  Banh tom (krupuk udang--shrimp crackers) also are a nice accompaniment.

 

 I am submitting this to Delicious Vietnam #6, a monthly blogging event celebrating Vietnamese food.  Founded by Anh of A Food Lover's Journey, and Kim and Hong of Ravenous Couple, Delicious Vietnam welcomes submissions from bloggers around the world.  To learn how you might participate, click here.  The roundup for Delicious Vietnam #6 will be hosted by yours truly.  Check out the roundup to find the details on who will be hosting Delicious Vietnam #7.

Vietnamese Cabbage Salad with Chicken--Goi Ba Bap Cai

This is a staple dish in our house.  It is also a fixture at potlucks at my wife's school because it is cheap, quick, healthful, and delicious.  Almost any time we have roast chicken, whether it's one I roast or a rotisserie chicken picked up at the supermarket, we have this the next day.  As neither Tjing, my wife, nor I are particularly fond of chicken breast, finding it generally to be rather dry and flavorless, this is a great way to use the meat.  While I prefer it with rau ram (daun laksa or Vietnamese coriander), mint is a perfectly acceptable substitute.  The dressing does not use oil and can be easily adjusted to different tastes.  When I make this for school potlucks, I am careful about not making it too spicy; teachers are such sensitive souls.

Some recipes call for using rice vinegar for the dressing; others use lime juice.  Personally, I prefer the latter.  The freshness of the lime makes the salad so much more lively and refreshing.  If you have some ground roasted peanuts or fried shallots on hand, a tablespoon or two make a nice addition on top of the salad.

Goi Ga Bap Cai--Chicken and Cabbage Salad

1 to 2 cups cooked chicken,  shredded

1/2 head of green cabbage, thinly sliced

1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 cup julienned carrot

1/2 cup rau ram, or mint, or a combination of the two,  coarsely chopped or torn

Dressing

2 cloves garlic, crushed to a paste in a mortar

1 to 2 red chilies, seeded and minced

2 TBS fish sauce

2 TBS lime juice

1 TBS water

1 TBS sugar, to taste (some prefer a sweeter dressing, others like more bite)

1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper

Combine ingredients for dressing and adjust to taste.

Combine salad ingredients.  Toss with dressing just before serving (if you dress the salad too soon the vegetables will lose their crispness and become limp).  Rice crackers (banh da) or shrimp crackers (banh phong tom or krupuk udang) make a nice accompaniment.

I am submitting this post to Delicious Vietnam, a monthly blogging event founded by Ravenous Couple and A Food Lover's Journey to celebrate and explore Vietnamese cuisine.   This month's host is Anh of A Food Lover's Journey.  To learn more about Delicious Vietnam and how you can participate, click here.