Used sparingly to coat food lightly, this sublime sauce goes well with seafood, chicken, and even boiled green vegetables. If you are portioning it for your guests, serve it in small, shallow dishes, as a little of it goes a long way. This sauce is so good that a family friend drank his serving. While an electric mini-chopper makes quick work of mincing ginger (cut it into 1/2-inch chunks and use a little lime juice to move things along), a sharp knife will allow you to hone your knife skills. For the best flavor, select a heavy knob of ginger with smooth, thin skin.

　　

Ingredients

makes 2/3 cup

　　Chubby 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

　　5 tablespoons fresh lime juice (2 or 3 limes)

　　2 1/2 tablespoons sugar

　　2 to 3 tablespoons fish sauce

　　

Step 1

In a small bowl, combine the ginger, lime juice, and sugar and stir to dissolve the sugar. Taste and adjust the flavors with more lime juice or sugar as needed. The ginger and lime should both be prominent, but not to the point that they make you wince and pucker. Add the fish sauce, starting out with 2 tablespoons and adding more as your palate dictates. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the ginger bloom before serving.

　　

Step 2

Put the sauce on the table so that diners can serve themselves, or divide among individual dipping sauce bowls. It may be prepared 2 to 3 hours in advance and left at room temperature until serving.

　　Reprinted with permission from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors by Andrea Nguyen. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Copyright © 2006.  Photographs by Leigh Beisch. Buy the full book from Amazon or Bookshop.