Peanut Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Leo - Vietnam)
from Authentic Vietnamese Cooking Food from a Family Table by Corinne Trang

Throughout Southeast Asia, there are many recipes for peanut sauce, but the Vietnamese version is the lightest one I have ever tasted. It seems that you can have the authentic one only in Vietnam or at home. Most of the time in Vietnamese restaurants, peanut butter is mixed with hoisin sauce and some ground peanuts are tossed in. The result is very pasty and not very refined. This peanut sauce is true to the original in Vietnam, being fluid and light. The secret is the chicken stock, which lightens the sauce and allows you to taste all the ingredients.

[A quick recipe for peanut sauce that I ran across: Make peanut sauce by mixing equal parts chunky peanut butter and hoison sauce and thinning it with hot water, then add Sriracha chili sauce to taste. Top with chopped roasted peanuts. Brian and I made this once and it was pretty good.]

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large clove garlic, peeled and minced
1 or more bird's eye or Thai chilies, seeded and minced
3 ounces unsalted roasted peanuts, 1 tablespoon chopped, the rest finely ground (but not butter)
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar

1. Heat the oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir-fry the garlic and chilies until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the ground peanuts and stir until they give up some of their natural oil, about 5 minutes more.

2. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and sugar, and bring just to a boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the oil from the peanuts starts surfacing, about 15 minutes. Transfer sauce to a heatproof serving bowl, garnish with chopped peanuts, and serve.

Makes about 2 cups