Vietnamese chili lemongrass sate sauce (tương ớt sa tế in Vietnamese) is that yummy spicy chili oil that you typically see in Vietnamese restaurants. It packs in a little heat and spice and helps add bold flavor from its use of garlic, peppers and fragrant lemongrass.

Growing up, blue crabs were always a treat for us growing up as kids in Kansas so having this as a family now with both parents and my lil sis just brought us all back to our old childhood days… 😍

The first batch (pictured in top right corner) were simple boiled blue crabs served with a lime/salt/black pepper dipping sauce! The sauce is so good and was our favorite dipping sauce as kids since it was a lil sour/citrusy/and salty! Paired with a little black pepper it had just the right amount of spice. The second way was a stir fried crab with a Vietnamese satay sauce (lemongrass, ginger, garlic, shallots) then tossed with fragrant aromatic herbs like cilantro, scallions and red chili.

Growing up my dad usually grilled Vietnamese pork ribs but every once in a while we’d get beef ribs. They were much more expensive than pork ribs so we didn’t have them often. They’re prepared the same way too and when you throw it in a vermicelli noodle bowl it was so so good!

Make classic Vietnamese dish, Tôm Rim. These glossy and fragrant prawns are marinated in traditional Vietnamese flavors then stir fried in a rich and savory caramel sauce. The thick sweet and savory glaze is just finger licking good and the shells are crispy and so flavorful you can eat the shrimps whole with shells on.

Nuoc Mam Cham, simply translated equates to fermented fish dipping sauce. This traditional fish sauce is a bright/citrusy/and semi-sweet and fishy dipping sauce is widely used in many Vietnamese dishes. Click through to see my Dad’s recipe!

This is popular traditional Vietnamese dish, Suon Nuong, is typically served sliced up in a rice noodle bowl with fish sauce, aka “bun cha”, and sometimes served as with rice “Com Suon Nuong”. This recipe is my dad’s and it’s more indicative of North Vietnamese style. The secret here is how my dad uses honey, brown sugar, and cinnamon in the pork marinade. The cinnamon powder helps enhance the aromatic flavor and the honey adds a touch of sweetness and helps add color and caramelizes the edges of the pork.

Nuoc Mam Cham, simply translated equates to fermented fish dipping sauce. This traditional fish sauce is a bright/citrusy/and semi-sweet and fishy dipping sauce is widely used in many Vietnamese dishes. This subtly fishy dipping sauce is made from a blend of fermented fish sauce, water, sugar, and citrus. Below is my mom’s special blend.

To celebrate my parents arrival and AAPI Heritage month, I wanted to make my parents dinner since they always cook for us and it gave me a chance to and talk to them more about our family’s heritage.

I took a twist on a Vietnamese lemon grass & steamed mussel recipe I had and swapped out the chicken broth for a butter wine sauce.

The result? Delicious, the Vietnamese herbs with the cooked down white wine and butter was such an amazing pairing, it was very smooth, familiar, and aromatic (Think Vietnamese purple basil, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, chives, jalepeno, red chili, siracha, cilantro and fish sauce cooked down with steamed and buttered mussels...) 😍.

Thit Nuong- Sometimes I like my bbq pork served in a rice noodle bowl with fish sauce and sometimes I like them real sticky and sauce’y and served with rice.Sauce’y tip: save the juices meat marinade and simmer for a few minutes, reserve the sauce, and brush mid grilling or cooking and/or lather on upon plating for extra sticky & sauce’y pork chops🤤!

Vietnamese pickled eggplants super easy to make and take about 3-4 days to ferment. You can find these round eggplants called “kermit” or white “cà pháo” at the asian markets. They can also be referred as south macrocarpon, gboma or African eggplant.

“Thai” eggplants during the summer months and they are the size of small golf balls. Traditionally the white or Kermit Eggplants are the ones that we used growing up but all I could find were the Thai variety which still turned out pretty darn nice!

Growing up my dad usually grilled Vietnamese pork ribs but every once in a while we’d get beef ribs. They were much more expensive than pork ribs so we didn’t have them often. They’re prepared the same way too and when you throw it in a vermicelli noodle bowl it was so so good!

Whenever you go to an authentic Vietnamese restaurant they always have a plethora of side dipping sauces like a fish dipping sauce (nuoc mam cham), scallion oil (mo hanh), fermented mustard greens (du chua) or even vegetarian dipping sauces if you’re lucky! They compliment, and are a staple in creating many Vietnamese dishes. Below are a few of my favorite staples which you’ll see served with many of my concoctions to follow!