Fish Sauce Dip

I've been craving for Viet food lately, so I decided to share the fish sauce dip recipe with you peeps. This isn't the lame one you get at restaurants, though. This is the fire-in-the-hole hot and spicy home-made kind. Note on the pictures: my kids were playing with the camera so the battery was dead. These pics are from my cell phone.

Need:
chopped garlic
chopped ginger
chopped Thai bird chilies
sugar
water
fish sauce

 

Finely chop the garlic and ginger and add to a container for storage. Yes, that is a re-purposed jar. Don't judge.

 

Finely chop the chilies. I recommend using a food processor for this recipe or putting on your gloves. And yes, add the seeds. Don't be a pansy.

 

Add water and sugar to a pot in a 1:1 ratio. Let it come to a boil and thicken. This is a simple syrup. Add to the container of chilies, garlic, and ginger while hot; the heat helps to draw out the essential oils from them. This is a very good thing.

 

Add fish sauce, then taste it. It should be salty, sweet, spicy, and garlicky. Perfect for dipping. When I am about to eat, I usually add a squeeze of lime to this because I like a little sour too. This will keep for a little while in the cupboard.