this weekend, our friend K came to stay with us, and she cooked us a swell vietnamese dinner. She had gotten her mitts on a few bottles of Phu Quoc fish sauce, widely reputed to be the best there is -- and it really is nice stuff. Much fishier than others, in the best possible way, and sort of nutty and rounded in flavor. (K agreed with our previous intelligence that Three Crabs brand is the best available in the States.)
Since K lived in Vietnam for 4+ years, she has a few recipes up her sleeve. One she got straight from the cooking queen of Phu Quoc island, involving squid, chilies, garlic, shallots, turmeric, fish sauce, and a truckload of chowdered-up lemongrass. Yum. She also made cashew chicken which was a far cry from most restaurant versions, a simple saute of collard greens, cabbage salad, and tom yum goong, the spicy lemongrass shrimp soup. All dreamy. Black sticky rice with coconut milk for dessert. Sigh.
Posted by foodnerd at April 19, 2004 03:13 PM