Dipping Sauces, clockwise from top left: Soy and Ginger; Lemon and Garlic; Sesame Seed; Basic; Ginger
Basic Dipping Sauce
In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar in 1/3 cup (80 ml) fish sauce, stirring constantly. Add 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon lime juice and 2 seeded and very finely chopped red chillies. Finely grate 1/2 small peeled carrot and 1 peeled radish and stir them into the sauce just before serving. (The basic sauce, without the vegetables, can be stored, covered, in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week. Serve at room temperature.)
Makes approximately 1/2 cup (125 ml)
Sesame Seed Dipping Sauce
Crush 100 gm toasted Japanese white sesame seeds until they form a paste, using a mortar and pestle or a clean coffee grinder. Add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil, if necessary, to assist in forming a paste. Mix the paste with 1/2 cup (125 ml) shoshoyu (Japanese soy sauce), 2 tablespoons mirin, 3 teaspoons caster sugar, 1/2 teaspoon instant dashi granules and 1/2 cup (125 ml ) warm water. Cover and refrigerate. Use within 2 days. Makes approximately 13/4 cups (440 ml)
Ginger Dipping Sauce
Peel a 5 cm piece of fresh ginger and grate it very finely. In a small bowl, stir 2 tablespoons each of sugar and rice wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon fish sauce, until the sugar dissolves. Add the ginger, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander and 1 seeded and finely chopped green chilli to the bowl; chill for 15 minutes before serving. Makes approximately 1/2 cup (125 ml)
Lemon And Garlic Dipping Sauce
In a small bowl, stir 1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice,
2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 tablespoon sugar until the sugar dissolves. Stir in 2 chopped small red chillies and
3 finely chopped cloves of garlic.
Makes approximately 3/4 cup (185 ml)
Soy And Ginger Dipping Sauce
Combine 1 cup (250 ml) shoshoyu (Japanese soy sauce), a 5 cm piece of peeled and finely grated fresh ginger and 2 teaspoons caster sugar in a small bowl. Whisk well and serve within 15 minutes of preparation.
Makes 1 cup (250 ml)