Lemongrass-Mint Dipping Sauce


This sauce is meant to be paired with Crab and Snow Pea Vietnamese-style Spring Rolls, also available on SauceMagazine.com. Make the dipping sauce first so that it can cool while you prepare the spring rolls.

Ingredients

1/3 cup water
2 tsp. granulated or palm sugar
1 oz. lemongrass stalks, quartered and cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces
1 small serrano pepper (less than 1 oz.), seeded and minced
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 Tbsp. minced fresh mint

Preparation

• Place the water, sugar and lemongrass pieces in a small nonreactive saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

• Turn the heat off and allow the lemongrass to steep in the warm water about 30 minutes. Strain out the lemongrass and transfer the flavored sugar water to a small bowl.

• Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Let the mixture sit about 10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Serve immediately, or make up to two days in advance and store tightly covered in the fridge.