Word: nuoc
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2000-2009
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...monosyllabic surfers (How do you like it here? ''Awesome.'' How do you feel? ''Stoked'') hung out without complaint. After all, all they ever do is eat, sleep, surf and have sex, wearing basically no more raiment in one endeavor than another. The scene of this wait was the Non Nuoc Hotel, which offered the same amenities (dim corridors, rough toilet paper) that you get in what used to be called the Soviet bloc. The Vietnamese smiled charmingly throughout, and soon enough the boards arrived and the games commenced. There was something squirrelly about the event -- an American flag snapping above...
...house specialty is vermicelli—thin rice noodles in a fish sauce mixed with your choice of beef, pork, or chicken and mint, bean sprouts, and peanuts ($6.95). It is a lovely light dish, and certain versions feature a crispy spring role accompanied by the wonderfully tangy nuoc cham sauce on the side. You can customize it to your liking (I choose to skip the mint), making vermicelli a good choice for your first Vietnamese culinary experience...
...Fermenting fish into a sauce dates back thousands of years: a similar sauce, known as garum or liquamen, was the most common seasoning in the Roman Empire. Southeast Asians still have the taste. Thais produce nam pla, Filipinos patis. In Vietnam, though, nuoc mam is more than just an important ingredient. "I can't cook without it," says Tran Cong, 33, chef of Le Tonkin restaurant in Hanoi. "Vietnamese food would turn into nothing without nuoc...
...face of it, nuoc mam is rudimentary to make. Alternate layers of fish with salt, and leave them to ferment for at least four months. Drain the vat from the bottom, pour the sauce back into the vat and wait another few months. Then drain again. This first pressing, as prized as extra-virgin olive oil, is called nhi and is usually reserved for dipping bowls at the table. On Phu Quoc, they douse everything from vegetables to french fries in salty nuoc mam nhi. Second and third pressings are used for cooking...
...What sets Phu Quoc's nuoc mam apart is its ingredients and the islanders' know-how. Unlike competitors in Thailand and the Philippines, Phu Quoc's factories use only ca com, or long-jawed anchovies, eschewing competitors' methods of mixing other kinds of fish in with the ca com. The three-meter-high fermentation vats are made with special woods, which lend their own unique flavor to the sauce. The island's nuoc mam is so famous it has inspired would-be sauciers in Vietnam and further afield to trade illicitly on its tangy reputation. Nguyen Thi Tinh, president...