In the Viet kitchen, tuong refers to various heady sauces made from fermented beans. It might be thin like soy sauce, which some folks call nuoc tuong (tuong water), or thick like this sauce, which accompanies Southern Salad Rolls (page 32), Beef and Jicama Hand Rolls (page 30), chicken meatballs (page 86), and Delightful Crepes (page 277). There are several ways to prepare this sauce, and my family’s version is based on nuoc leo, a sweet and earthy sauce from central Vietnam made with pork liver. We substitute lighter-tasting chicken livers, which are saved from whole chickens used for other dishes. Sweet hoisin sauce tempers the chile and garlic, while tomato paste brightens the sauce, which otherwise would be dull brown. At Vietnamese restaurants, this sauce is often called peanut sauce and made with peanut butter, a nontraditional ingredient. It is convenient and tasty, but not as complex and deeply flavored as this liver version. If you do not like liver or are a vegetarian, make the version in the Note that follows.
For a vegetarian version, substitute 2 tablespoons creamy salted peanut butter (preferably an all-natural brand) for the liver. Whisk together the peanut butter and the 2 tablespoons water and proceed as directed. The sauce may be quite thick, in which case you can omit the cornstarch binder.
Recipe information
Yield
makes about 1 1/2 cups
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Rinse the chicken livers and trim away any visible membrane. In an electric mini-chopper, combine the liver and the 2 tablespoons water and process until smooth. (Or, mince the livers by hand, flipping them over occasionally with the knife blade to ensure that you are reducing them to a shapeless mass. Use the knife blade to transfer the minced livers to a small bowl and combine with the 2 tablespoons water.)
Step 2
In a small saucepan, combine the oil, garlic, and chile flakes over medium-low heat. When the oil is sizzling and pale yellow, add the tomato paste, breaking it up with a whisk or fork. When the oil is a bright yellow-orange, immediately pour in the 1 cup water to stop the cooking. Increase the heat to medium and whisk in the liver mixture. Discard the larger liver pieces that eventually cling to the whisk. As the sauce cooks and changes color, the liver will appear as brown bits.
Step 3
When the sauce begins to boil, whisk in 6 tablespoons hoisin sauce. Let the sauce cook for 1 minute and taste, adding more hoisin sauce, if necessary. The amount you use depends on the brand and your own taste. Aim for a sweet, tangy, spicy balance. For extra depth, add the fish sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer, whisk in the cornstarch mixture, and then cook for about 30 seconds, or until thickened. Remove from the heat and let cool, uncovered, to concentrate the fl avors and thicken further. (The sauce may be prepared ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 day or frozen for up to 1 month. Return to room temperature or warm slightly before serving.)
Step 4
Transfer the sauce to a bowl and sprinkle the peanuts and sesame seeds on top. Put the sauce on the table so that diners can serve themselves. (Or, divide the sauce among individual dipping sauce bowls and then sprinkle with peanuts and sesame seeds before serving.)
