Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's book The Best of Vietnamese and Thai Cooking. Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
To read more about Pham and Vietnamese cuisine, click here.
If you get invited to a traditional Vietnamese dinner, chances are you will probably be treated to this ca kho to. It is so basic and popular that in many homes (mine included) it is served almost every other day.
• In this relatively simple recipe, the homemade caramel sauce is an essential ingredient that imparts a nutty sweetness. Pham warns against substituting molasses, which would add an unpleasant bitter flavor. • Fish sauce (nuoc mam), a pungent, salty liquid made from fermented anchovies, adds depth and flavor to numerous Vietnamese dishes. For best results, choose bottles priced at $3 to $4 rather than $1, and pass on jars that are dark, which indicates oxidation or the presence of additives. "Look for fish sauce in glass jars. Avoid plastic," says Pham. "The fish sauce should have a nice, even color, like iced tea." She suggests Three Crabs, Lobster Boy, and Phu Quoc brands. When cooking with fish sauce, always add it to other liquids: Never place it directly in a hot, dry pan, which would broadcast its pungent, fishy odor throughout your kitchen in a less-than-pleasant way. Soy sauce is an acceptable vegetarian substitute, though it does lack fish sauce's smoky complexity. • Clay-pot cooking is common in south Vietnam, where dishes are simmered in earthenware vessels that absorb moisture, producing a rich, caramelized sauce. Look for clay pots in Asian and cookware stores, and rinse a new pot with boiling water to rid it of any claylike smell. When placing a clay pot on the stove, it's important to avoid heating it too quickly, or it will crack. On a gas stove, bring the heat up gradually. If you have an electric range, use a heat diffuser to be safe.
