Chao Tom (Vietnamese Grilled Shrimp Paste-Wrapped Sugarcane)

It's a good thing you can't actually taste what you see. Does it look good? Because I was a little, OK a lot, heavy-handed with the salt. My second-youngest uncle said I put the whole ocean in the shrimp. Ack! But the basic premise of the recipe should do you fine and I've dramatically decreased the salt quotient.

Chanh Muoi (Vietnamese Salty Lemonade) and How to Preserve Lemons

Since I'm on this tangent about acquired tastes ie. weird food combinations, it seemed only fitting to post my recipe for chanh muoi (Vietnamese salty lemonade). It's on the menu at most Vietnamese restaurants so if I've now stirred your curiosity, you can order it the next time you go. You can also find jars of this at the Asian grocery store. Since I'm blessed with an uncle who has a Meyer lemon tree, you know I had to make my own!

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy Tropical Fruit Salad

So to continue this thread of salads with the basic Vietnamese fish sauce dressing, you can also add it to fruit salads. Really.

I'm not sure if it's a Vietnamese thing but I like a little bit of salt on my watermelon. Sometimes I eat my grapes and mangoes with soy sauce and chili peppers. Harder fruits like apples and pears are eaten with salt and chili peppers. Of course, the majority of the time, I eat my fruit plain. But for those occasional moments when you want the sweet, sour, salty, spicy flavors all rolled into one...

Anyway, so after seeing this salad at Rambling Spoon, I was also reminded of this salad from "The Foods of Bali: Authentic Recipes From the Island of the Gods" by Heinz von Holzen and Lother Arsana. So technically, this recipe isn't Vietnamese, Thai, or Indonesian, but it incorporates flavors from all of those cuisines.

I admit, it's an acquired taste, so it may not be for you.

Sweet, Sour, Salty, Spicy Tropical Fruit Salad

You'll need:
As much fruit as you want. Since this is a tropical salad, fruits such as mangoes, pineapples, papayas, pomelos, watermelon, etc. work best. If nothing else, just go with the mangoes and pineapples.

For the dressing, you'll need:
tamarind pulp (You can find small blocks of seedless tamarind pulp for a few bucks at most Asian grocery stores.)
fish sauce, to taste
brown sugar, to taste
lemon or lime juice, to taste
dried chili peppers, to taste

Mash the tamarind pulp and add the rest of the dressing ingredients. Adjust according to taste but you should have a mix of sweet, sour, salty, spicy flavors. Don't worry if it's not too sweet since the fruit will take care of that.

Fruit should be washed and cut into chunks.

Add dressing ingredients and toss gently to mix thoroughly. Chill in fridge for about half an hour before serving.