Nuoc leo (peanut sauce)
1 servings
Ingredients
| Quantity | Ingredient | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Clove garlic, sliced | |
| 1 | tablespoon | Vegetable oil |
| 1 | small | Piece of pork liver (see note below), minced |
| 1 | tablespoon | Ground pork |
| 1 | teaspoon | Tomato paste |
| ¼ | cup | Tuong |
| ½ | cup | Water |
| 1½ | teaspoon | Peanut butter |
| 1 | tablespoon | Granulated sugar |
| 1½ | tablespoon | Sesame seeds |
| 10 | Roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped [I use unsalted Planter's roasted | |
| Peanuts.] | ||
| Thin strips of hot pepper for garnish | ||
Directions
I prefer the following version. It's a bit more complex, but one of the ingredients might be a bit hard to find++tuong, a kind of soy bean paste used in Vietnam. A good Vietnamese market will have it.
Using medium heat, fry the garlic in the oil. Add the liver and pork. Lower the heat and add the tomato paste; stir and add the tuong. Stir again and add the water and peanut butter. Raise the heat to medium and add the sugar. Boil for 1 minute and transfer to a bowl.
Add the sesame seeds to a medium-hot frying pan, stirring constantly until browned. This should take 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sesame seeds to the nuoc leo, along with the chopped peanuts.
The sauce can be garnished with thin strips of hot pepper.
NOTE: Beef or chicken liver can be substituted, but pork liver is preferred. The piece should be the size of a large chicken liver.
From "The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam", Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman, Barron's, 1979.
Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 27 1991.