Vietnamese Chilli Dressing (Nước Sốt Ớt)

March 4, 2015

Vietnamese Chilli Dressing (Nước Sốt Ớt) © kvalifood.com

A punchy, slightly sweet chilli dressing from Vietnamese cooking - fresh chillies and garlic blended to a paste, then mixed with fish sauce, kumquat juice and lime. The small addition of condensed milk rounds out the acidity and gives the dressing a touch of body, which is common in southern Vietnamese and coastal chilli sauces, particularly those served with seafood. The Hoi An chilli sauce and chilli powder layer in extra heat and depth without making it one-dimensional. Good on spring rolls, grilled meats, seafood, or as a dipping sauce for anything fried.

Ingredients

1 long mild chilli
1 small hot chilli
2 garlic cloves
4 tsp sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp kumquat juice
½ tsp condensed milk
½ tsp Hoi An chilli sauce
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp lime juice

Directions

Seed the mild chilli if you want less heat, or leave the seeds in for more. Roughly chop both chillies and the garlic cloves.
Blend the chillies and garlic in a small food processor or pound them in a mortar until you have a coarse, wet paste. It does not need to be perfectly smooth.
Scrape the paste into a bowl. Add the sugar and stir until it starts to dissolve.
Mix in the fish sauce, kumquat juice and lime juice. Stir in the condensed milk, Hoi An chilli sauce and chilli powder.
Taste and adjust - it should balance hot, sweet, sour and salty. Add more sugar if too sharp, more lime if too sweet, more fish sauce if it needs depth.

Notes

Kumquat juice: Kumquats (quất/tắc) are widely used in Vietnamese cooking as a souring agent. If you cannot find them, use a mix of lime juice and a tiny bit of orange zest to approximate the floral tartness. Straight lime juice works too, just less complex.
Condensed milk: A small amount is common in Vietnamese chilli sauces, especially those from coastal regions. It softens the acidity and adds a faint sweetness. Don’t skip it - you won’t taste dairy, but you’ll notice the difference in how the dressing feels.
Hoi An chilli sauce: If you don’t have this, substitute with sriracha or another fermented chilli sauce. The amount is small enough that the specific brand matters less than having some fermented chilli flavour in there.
Keeps for 3-4 days refrigerated in a sealed jar. The flavour mellows slightly overnight.