Nước Màu
The mother sauce of Vietnamese cuisine. Not to be confused with a dessert caramel sauce. Vietnamese caramel sauce is used for many “kho” dishes.
Kho means “to braise“, “to stew“, or “to simmer“. We “kho” everything, from pork to chicken to fish, it is a staple of Vietnamese family dinners.
Master this sauce and you have the building blocks for many delicious Vietnamese dishes.
Ingredients
Sugar: I use white sugar but palm sugar or brown sugar works as well.
Water: Plain water works but you can also use coconut water for extra flavor.
Instructions
Put sugar in the pot and over medium heat start to melt the sugar. Do not stir.
Once you see the sugar start to brown on the outer edges then stir gently by swirling the pot around.
After about 5 minutes the sugar will start to turn into a color similar to brown sugar.
Turn the pot to medium low because the next few minutes the color will start changing fast.
Once the sugar turns into the color of black coffee the caramel is done.
Quickly remove the pot from the heat and slowly add water.
Continue adding the water and swirling your pan around until all the water is mixed into the sugar mixture.
The caramel sauce can be used right away or poor into a heatproof container and store in the pantry for a few months.
Make Vietnamese Braised Pork with Eggs using this homemade caramel sauce.
Vietnamese Caramel Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Medium Sized Pot
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Sugar
- 1/2 Cup Water
Instructions
- Put sugar in a pot and turn heat to medium high. The sugar will begin to melt and bubble. Do not stir.
- Once you see the sugar start to brown then stir gently by swirling the pot around. Turn the heat to medium low.
- After about 5 minutes the sugar will start to brown, changing from a brown sugar color to a black coffee color.
- Turn off heat. Slowly add water to the pot a little at a time and gently swirl around to mix. Continue this until you mix in all of the water.
- Poor into a heat proof container and let cool.
- Once cool, cover and store in pantry for up to a few months.
[…] Caramel Sauce: This is not to be confused with caramel used for desserts. I always have my homemade version stocked in my pantry. You can substitute for Thick Soy […]