Nuoc Leo (Peanut Sauce)

Servings: 1
Ingredients:

1    Clove garlic, sliced
1 tb Vegetable oil
1 sm Piece of pork liver (see
-note below), minced
1 tb Ground pork
1 ts Tomato paste
1/4 c  Tuong
1/2 c  Water
1 1/2 ts Peanut butter
1 tb Granulated sugar
1 1/2 tb Sesame seeds
10    Roasted peanuts, coarsely
-chopped [I use unsalted
-Planter's roasted
Peanuts.]
Thin strips of hot pepper
-for garnish

I prefer the following version. It’s a bit more complex, but one of
the ingredients might be a bit hard to find tuong, a kind of soy
bean paste used in Vietnam. A good Vietnamese market will have it.
Using medium heat, fry the garlic in the oil. Add the liver and
pork. Lower the heat and add the tomato paste; stir and add the
tuong. Stir again and add the water and peanut butter. Raise the
heat to medium and add the sugar. Boil for 1 minute and transfer to a
bowl.

Add the sesame seeds to a medium-hot frying pan, stirring constantly
until browned. This should take 2 to 3 minutes. Add the sesame
seeds to the nuoc leo, along with the chopped peanuts.

The sauce can be garnished with thin strips of hot pepper.

NOTE: Beef or chicken liver can be substituted, but pork liver is
preferred. The piece should be the size of a large chicken liver.

From ‘The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam’, Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman,
Barron’s, 1979.

Posted by Stephen Ceideberg; March 27 1991.