Be ready to delight your taste buds, as the heir to
Hue’s traditional royal cuisine explains how to season
simple dishes like stir-fried vegetables and stewed
fish to unlock a unique flavor. Mrs. Ton Nu Thi Ha is
one of the last surviving royal cooks. The 77-year-old
from Hue began cooking at the age of 10 and was
schooled in royal cooking techniques by her aunt, who
was also the wife of the Chief Minister . She’s a
traditional woman who prepares traditional food, with
every dish needing a perfect taste, deep flavors, and
a stunning presentation. At an event in Ho Chi Minh
City recently, Mrs. Ha was first introduced as a guest
and she shared the secrets of how she uses soy sauce.
In her kitchen, it’s used as a marinade, and she
delighted the audience with a guide to making a
flavorful dipping sauce. The heir to Hue’s royal
cuisine, Mrs. Ton Nu Thi Ha Uses soy sauce as a
marinade and as a final seasoning Mrs. Ha explained
that for her, soy sauce is the final dash of seasoning
for her dishes, as well as a marinade for stir-fries.
With its deep and unique taste, vegetables and fish
soak up the flavors and enhance every element of the
dish. “Soy sauce can be used for marinating or
seasoning, such as with my favorite meat stewed with
coconut dish, or in a traditional fish stew. Rather
than using rock sugar or brown sugar, I prefer to use
Nam Duong soy sauce to give my dish a slightly sour
taste, plus give it the perfect color of melting
sugar. Once stewed for four hours, the fish hardens
and the edges begin to curve - giving it a truly Hue
taste,” she said. As a dipping sauce or for adding
chilli powder When making porridge served with pandan
leaves, Mrs. Ha adds original soy sauce. When using
too many ingredients, the porridge gets diluted and
loses flavor, she explains, so only use soy sauce. She
also advises cooks to add fresh sauce, rather than
leftovers that can become clotted or discolored. If
you’re not a fan of original soy sauce, Mrs. Ha
suggests adding crushed garlic and chillies, or even
chilli powder, to bring out the flavors. Further, soy
sauce can be added to a sweet and sour sauce that can
be added to cakes and dumplings. She does note that
the garlic soy sauce shouldn’t be used by vegans. “
You can use soy sauce to dip in sweet potatoes or to
add flavor to morning glory. If you find it too light
for dipping things like cabbage, turnip, or mustard
greens, just add some extra seasoning to it,” she
counsels. Soy sauce is perfect for dipping or for
marinating food Choosing a soy sauce When talking
about the benefits of soy sauce, Mrs. Ha notes that
people with high blood pressure should avoid salt and
that soy sauce is an ideal replacement. When cooking
more healthy dishes, she replaces salt with soy sauce
to not lose any of the taste. “ Soy sauce must be
balanced and well-seasoned, every drop must have the
right flavor. When I’m preparing an omelet, I’d never
use fish sauce; only soy sauce. Out of all the soy
sauce brands available, Nam Duong soy sauce is the
best quality and my first choice. It’s concentrated
and doesn’t discolor the dish. When you are a royal
cook, like me, you must pay attention to the color and
presentation of your dish, not only the taste,” Mrs.
Ha said. Looking back at her childhood, Mrs. Ha
explained that Nam Duong soy sauce used to be called
Con Meo Den and it was a rare and special sauce back
then. Every morning after qigong, her grandfather
would make porridge and add soy sauce, occasionally
adding a dash of chilli powder. Soy sauce is a
much-loved dipping sauce in Vietnam.ese meals and has
been part of food history for centuries According to
Mrs. Ha, the flavor of Nam Duong soy sauce has been
consistent all through the years. “ When you cook, you
need to know your seasoning so you can master the
flavor and the look of the dish. Nowadays, there are
good and bad sauces available, but Nam Duong soy sauce
is just as great as it ever was,” she said. In Saigon
in 1951, there was a soy sauce factory that used the
symbol of Con Meo Den and the name Nam Duong. It
produced bottles of sauce with a strong, concentrated
flavor that soon captured the hearts of the people.
From that point, Nam Duong has been a top brand in
Vietnam.and featured in millions of meals over the
decades. With over 50 years of refining the product,
the brand has remained loyal to its traditional
flavors whilst harnessing modern manufacturing methods
in its production. March 2019 saw Culture Magazin, a
leading bilingual magazine in North America, vote on
which was “The Best Taste of Vietnam.ese Soy Sauce”.
The contest was between locally made, Vietnam.ese soy
sauce brands and Nam Duong soy sauce, from Nam Duong
International Foodstuff Corporation, was awarded the
title The criteria for the award from Culture Magazin
took into account the following: - Having the best
flavor as determined by a survey conducted by Culture
Magazin in Toronto, Canada. - Being favored by
consumers in interviews conducted in supermarkets and
markets. - Being noted as having the best flavor by
Vietnam.ese chefs after 70 years on the market. -
Having all the correct licenses and certifications for
manufacturing and trading under Vietnam.ese law and
meeting international food safety requirements.
(Source: Kham Pha Newspaper)
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