Nuoc Cham Nem Nuong (Nha Trang Grilled Pork Dipping Sauce), No Added Refined Sugar
Vietnamese dishesDipping SaucesCentral Vietnamabout 40 minutes of cooking, plus soaking the glutinous rice overnight
This Nha Trang dipping sauce is nothing like the usual sweet and sour fish sauce: the base is ground glutinous rice cooked to a thick pouring consistency, enriched with pork, pork liver and finely ground shrimp. A good bowl is deep golden, thick enough to fall in a slow ribbon.
The hardest part is judging that thickness, since too thick is cloying and too thin will not cling to the grilled pork. The rice has to soak overnight and then be ground very fine, because a coarse grind leaves the sauce gritty. Cooking calls for constant stirring over low heat, as glutinous rice catches on the bottom of the pot easily.
This batch weighs about 628g, at roughly 295 calories per 100g.
Method
Peel and finely chop 1 shallot and 2 garlic cloves. Rinse 150g glutinous rice, soak it overnight, then grind it very fine with 200ml water.
Set a nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon cooking oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, fry the shallot and garlic until fragrant, then add 50g minced pork, 50g minced pork liver and 50g minced fresh shrimp and cook through.
Season the pan with 3 tablespoons annatto oil, 3 tablespoons peanut butter, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 tablespoons seasoning powder, 1 teaspoon MSG and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir, cook for another 2 minutes, then turn off the heat, cool and grind the mixture fine.
Bring 1 liter of water to a boil, add the ground mixture together with the ground rice, stir well and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Add 72g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, stir until dissolved, taste and adjust, then turn off the heat. A finished bowl is deep golden, thick and richly nutty.
Tips
Minced pork with a fresh pink color and bright white fat, free of yellow or dark spots, is the one to look for.
Round, smooth, bright white glutinous rice with a gentle fragrance gives the sauce its richness.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly, so it goes in while the pot is still hot with another minute of stirring.
Constant stirring from the bottom of the pot through all 15 minutes matters, as a moment of inattention scorches the rice and ruins the batch.
A sauce that comes out too thick loosens with hot water, while cold water makes it seize into lumps.
Chilling thickens the sauce, and gentle reheating with a splash of hot water brings it back.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.