Big Chiles in Saigon

Chiles come in all shapes and sizes but in Saigon these days, the predominant ones are largish hot ones that resemble long chiles. They have heat and are what you'll find sliced and served at the table. They don't have the perfume heat of smaller ot hiem but do pack a punch.

Last year, when I visited, these chiles weren't everywhere and you could sometimes get smaller ones. Looks like these are the ones people like nowadays. They keep better once cut and definitely have more zip than your jalapeno in the States!

Compare the size of the chiles to the limes, which are regular sized ones. The chiles are a good 3 to 4 inches long. At markets I found the chiles already ground up so that you don't have to chop them yourself. Usually, there's a vendor who sells pre-chopped lemongrass, garlic and chiles. Other aromatics, such as shallots and lemongrass are typically sold by the same person too. The chopping is done by machine. Quite convenient.

At casual restaurants (joints), a small container of pre-chopped chiles sits at the table, ready to be added to sauces, etc. There's no Sriracha or chile garlic sauce here! You could certainly use these chiles to make your own chile garlic sauce.

Comments

[Steamy Kitchen]

I've been trying to grow my own Asian chilies, they are sooo slow growing! The Jalepeno is growing like crazy, but not my Asian ones.

Question for you - I'm working on a recipe for Grilled Quail that I had at a Vietnamese restaurant. Allllmost there. Except for the dipping sauce. Ok. So I marinate the quail in the Chinese roast duck seasoning packet. And the dipping sauce is a mystery. I think it's a mixture of sugar, soy, water and rice wine vinegar. Any ideas?

[Andrea Nguyen]

Jaden, if the sauce is thin, then you've got it. If it's thickish, the restaurants may be adding hoisin sauce.

Could you add some of the duck seasoning ingredients to the dipping sauce so that it goes well with the quail? With fried quail, a sauce of salt, pepper and lime is often served too so that may work.

Thoughts?

[gaga]

Do you know how they make the green chilis that are marinated in a clear liquid (probably vinegar?) that you can find at a lot of vietnamese restaurants? I love that stuff!

Thanks!

[Chuck]

I wish restaurants in the Bay Area provided pre-chopped chiles on the table. I would be very happy with fresh whole chili peppers. The last time I went to Ton Kiang for dim sum, I asked for a fresh chili pepper. The waiter said they would have to charge me, which was odd, but I said fine. He brought out chopped jalapenos in soy sauce and oil. And all the seeds were removed... ugh!