Vietnamese Style Dressing

This is pretty much the standard dipping sauce for the rice paper wrapped spring-rolls and sauce you pour on Bun (rice noodle dishes). Add a little neutral flavored oil to give it a more western texture and you have a very versatile dressing, useful for things like a kohlrabi salad or light coleslaw.

INGREDIENTS:

METHOD:
Put everything but the cilantro into a jar twice the volume of the ingredients, and shake like mad until the sugar disappears. Add the cilantro and shake with some vigor for 30 seconds or so. Allow the rest 10-15 minutes, then use.

Chef’s Notes:
This dressing is excellent on noodles of various sorts. Typically, this dressing could add chili paste or fresh chilis if you wish to heat it up a little. You could add a couple drops of toasted sesame oil for a popular flavor, if you wish, but go easy. For a “vinaigrette” style dressing, use a neutral flavored oil such as grapeseed oil, and only make the dressing with a 1:1 ration, or 2:1 at the most. Add the oil to the jar and shake like hell, and use the dressing right away, or be prepared to shake it every time you want to use the dressing.

Makes: Around 1 cup

Source: Chef Andrew E Cohen