Vietnamese sweet and sour fish sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced.
• 1 hot red chili, seeds removed, minced.
• 3 tablespoons lime juice.
• 4 tablespoons refined white sugar.
• 2/3 cup fish sauce.
• 1 cup hot water.

Preparation:

Follow the below steps:

1)      In a small bowl, add the garlic, chili, sugar, lime juice first. Stir them all.2)      Then add fish sauce. Continue stirring. 
3)      Add the hot water and stir well until the sugar dissolves completely.

Serving:

-   It is commonly used as a dressing for salads, or dipping sauce.

- You should use the hot water because it help dissolving the sugar rapidly and releasing the fragrance of spices and fish sauce.

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Bitter melon soup

 Ingredients: ( serves 5 people).

•   5 bitter melons .
• 1 tsp fish sauce. 
•  1 tbs cooking oil.
• Salt, sugar, broth mix, ground pepper.
• 4 stalks scallions. Half cut in 2 inch-length, half finely chopped.
• 1 tbs chopped corianders.

For pork stuffing:

§  200 g ground lean pork.

§  1 egg whites.

§  1 dried wood ear mushroom, 2 inches in diameter, soaked in hot water about 20 minutes, drain and thinly cut.

§  1 small bunch of bean thread noodles, soaked in warm tap water about 5 minutes, drain and cut  in 2 inch length.

§  1 shallot, minced.

§  1 tsp sesam oil.

§  2 tsp fish sauce.

§  1 tsp ground pepper.

§  1 tsp sugar.

§  1 tsp broth mix.

Preparation: 
1)      In a fryingpan, add cooking oil over medium heat, then add the minced shallots. Stir-fry until the shallots have become golden brown. Remove from the heat. 
2)      Combine all inredients of pork stuffing together in a small bowl. Then add the fried shallots . Mix well. Get aside about 30 minutes. 
3)    Use a sharp knife cut the ends off the bitter melon and cut in half lengthwise (do not peel). Scrape out the seeds and pith from the middle of the melon with a small spoon. Wash in clean water and drain in a colander. 
4)      Use a soupspoon to stuff the bitter melons with the pork stuffing.

Cooking: 
1)      Bring a pot of water to a boil. 
2)      Place the stuffed bitter melon in the boiling water. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. 
3)   Then reduce the heat to medium in about 30 minutes. Add the 2-inch lengh scallions and season with sugar, broth mix, and fish sauce. Taste test and turn off the heat.

Serving: 
-     Cut the bitter melon into 2-inche length pieces.Transfer them to a large bowl. Ladle the hot soup into the bowl. 
-          Sprinkle some ground pepper and garnish with chopped scallions and corianders. 
-          Eating with warm rice.

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