Recipe Exchange: Sa Te, the Vietnamese lemongrass sauce you’ve been craving
I fell in love with Vietnamese food while working at a restaurant in North Brooklyn during the pandemic. Despite being one of the most challenging periods of my culinary career, I learned more about food than I realized at the time.
The Vietnamese techniques of sauce making, grilling, braising and steaming are completely different from those of the Franco-centric gastronomical canon we are used to in the West.
Vietnamese cuisine is predicated upon balance. Ideally, a Vietnamese meal should be balanced evenly between five core flavors: bitter, sour, sweet, salty and spicy. These flavors typically don’t just come from one dish but several main and side dishes served alongside herbs, sauces and fresh citrus.
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a $10 Deal — lemongrass beef at Vietnam Restaurant in the Medical District — and mentioned a common Vietnamese sauce: sa te.
I learned about, messed up and have successfully made many batches of this sauce at the aforementioned restaurant in Brooklyn. Sa te satisfies the “spicy” in the pentagon of Vietnamese flavor balance, but it also adds a crucial richness from fat, since the sauce is oil-based.
Since I mentioned in the $10 Deal that I knew how to make the sauce, a request came in from The Daily Memphian staff to share the recipe.
Though there are likely hundreds of variants of sa te, my recipe is very simple. The most time-consuming aspect of the method is the knifework, but it can be cut down by using a food processor or by buying pre-shredded frozen lemongrass (you can find this at most Asian grocery stores).
This sauce is deeply flavorful, fragrant and quite spicy. It’s also forgiving and tweakable. You can adjust your flavors as needed, such as using more or less bird’s eye chili, depending on your spice tolerance.
And you can put sa te on almost anything. I prefer it on grilled proteins, as the brightness from the aromatics and richness from the oil complement the bitterness from the grill-char really well. Serve alongside fresh redleaf, mint, basil, cilantro and lime for some summery lettuce wraps and enjoy!
Sa Te
Sa te, a Vietnamese sauce, is made with lemongrass and bird's eye chilis. (Joshua Carlucci/Special to The Daily Memphian)
Ingredients
4 stalks lemongrass, tender centers, trimmed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 shallots, peeled
1 knob of ginger, 2-3 in., peeled
6 bird’s eye chilis, stems removed
1 cup canola or grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons fish sauce (preferably Red Boat or Son brands)
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Salt, to taste
Directions
Mince lemongrass, garlic, shallots, ginger and bird’s eye chilis finely, either by hand or pulse in a food processor, until a chunky paste forms.
Heat oil over medium-low heat. When oil is streaky, add aromatics (minced lemongrass, garlic, shallots, ginger and bird’s eye chilis). Simmer, stirring often, until aromatics turn golden brown and highly fragrant. Remove from heat.
Add fish sauce, sugar and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Let cool.
When sauce cools, taste and adjust seasonings accordingly.
Serve with anything you like, but especially grilled proteins.
Yield: 1.5 cups
Prep time: 30-45 minutes
Topics
Recipe ExchangeJoshua Carlucci
Joshua Carlucci is a writer and food journalist from Los Banos, California. He holds a BA in English from the University of California, Berkeley, a culinary diploma from the Institute of Culinary Education, and an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Memphis, where he was managing editor of Pinch. His work has appeared or is forthcoming in The Brussels Review, Redivider, Gravy, EatingWell, Southern Living, and elsewhere. He is a staff writer at Brooklyn-based food and beverage industry magazine, StarChefs.Find more of his work on his website, joshuacarlucci.com.
Want to comment on our stories or respond to others? Join the conversation by subscribing now. Only paid subscribers can add their thoughts or upvote/downvote comments. Our commenting policy can be viewed here.