And that’s a fact.
Last night I followed my own advice and headed over to the Noble Pig blog for dinner inspiration. Vietnamese-Style Beef with Garlic, Black Pepper and Lime was simply amazing. Amazing, I tell you. It was salty, peppery, tangy, sweet, and loaded with umami. I served it over the recommended Jasmine Rice, and when I got a bite that had a little bit of everything in it, it was groan-inducing. It also happened to be family friendly. Abigail cleaned her plate, and while Zander had a little trouble with some of the beef (7 year olds and their loose teeth, I tell you!), this is a definite repeater, as both Andy and I also enjoyed a second serving.
The recipe comes together quickly and easily, provided you have the requisite ingredients on hand. And you should, it’s pretty basic, except for one little ingredient that if you don’t have, it’s worth picking up just for this dish.
Fish Sauce (or nuoc mam) is one of the most wretched things you will ever use in your Asian influenced cooking. I remember my first time opening up a bottle of fish sauce and taking a great big whif of that bottle. OMG, never again. It stinks, I’ll just put this out there. It smells to high heaven like rotten fish, but I have to tell you, fish sauce in small amounts makes magic in the pan. It adds a depth of flavor that nothing else can, and for that it is worth having. Just a small splash added to any stir fry will take that dish from good to spectacular- it’s that good! I’ve even heard it’s good sprinkled over plain old rice, but I have not gone there yet.
Now, in the past, the fish sauce that I have preferred is the ubiquitous Squid brand sauce. A huge bottle at my grocery store is only two bucks, and since you only use a bit at a time, it literally lasts and lasts. But on a recent pantry purging, I realized my fish sauce was a good four or five years old and it was time to replace. The bottle does suggest a best-by date, and I was well past it. While I was perusing the selection (and yes, there was a bit of a selection of this rancid concoction on the shelf) I decided to splurge and try the brand of fish sauce that was a whole four bucks a bottle instead. Three Crabs Brand Fish Sauce came home with me, and I now have a new pantry staple. I swear, the level of depth from this fish sauce was so much more than the other one I used to use.
(As an aside, I also found a fish sauce tasting going on over at Viet World Kitchen if you feel like feeling sorry for someone who actually just tasted fish sauce to find the best one for their needs.)
Anyways, all this to say that you should not be afraid of fish sauce, and it’s also worth seeking out a good brand. So get yourself some fish sauce, and then you must make this dish of Vietnamese Style Beef with Garlic, Black Pepper and Lime. It is so, so good. And even better- we left for a few hours after dinner, and when we walked in the door, it smelled like heavenly take-out in our house. That was a great smell to walk into!
Click on the links above to go to the recipe, and to also see some amazing pictures of the dish.
