• Prep Time:
  • Cooking Time:
  • Serves: 1 Servings

Caramel Sauce

  • Recipe Submitted by on

Category: Vietnamese, Condiments

 Ingredients List

  • 1/3 c Sugar
  • 1/4 c Nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish
  • -sauce)
  • 4 Shallots, thinly sliced
  • Freshly ground pepper

 Directions

Thought your reference to cooking sugar syrup to "caramelize" it was
interesting. It reminded me of a sauce that's used in Vietnamese
cuisine. It's used in a variety of recipes and turns out to be the
"secret" ingredient that gives barbecued Vietnamese stuff that unique
taste when used as a marinade for strips of beef, chicken or pork. I
use it in Satay recipes. The result is a subtle, delicious taste.
It also gives a nice glazed finish to stuff. Its use shouldn't be
limited to Asian cuisine. In fact, I suspect that this is originally
a French influence...

"...the only rule to remember is to turn off the smoke alarm and open
all the windows, as the sauce will smoke heavily, with a pungent
smell." [I didn't find this to be much of a problem. S.C..] Cook the
sugar in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, swirling the pan
constantly, until brown. It will smoke slightly. Immediately remove
the pan from the heat and stir the fish sauce into the caramel, being
careful to guard against splattering (the mixture will bubble
vigorously).

Return the mixture to low heat and gently boil, swirling the pan
occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 3
minutes. Add the shallots and ground pepper to taste; stir to
combine. Use in recipes where required. [Or, as I noted, as a
marinade for BBQ stuff. S.C..]

NOTE: Cool this sauce thoroughly before using. If cold food is
added to a caramel sauce that is hot, the sugar will harden instantly
and you'll end up with a dish full of candy chips.

Yield: 1/3 cup.

 Share this Recipe

Recipes by Course

Recipes by Main Ingredient

Recipes by Cuisine

Recipes by Preparation

Recipes by Occasion

Recipes by Dietary

Sign Up and Create a Cookbook Today!

Please Sign in to your Account or Sign up if you are new user.

Who loves our Healthy Recipes?