Q: This sucks! They left out that important dialogue!

Today, I experimented on a dipping sauce concoction through a self-examined pressure test of the lime sauce fish dish dad loves at Thai restaurants. There lied much temptation to just Google the recipe. But I wanted to see how sensitive my taste buds are, and also simply because sometimes I feel we rely too much on sources telling us what to do that we forget to think. So I get the general ingredients like lime, garlic, and cili padi. What else, I wondered for a bit as I strolled around Puteri Mart, looking at the fresh veggies and the friendly auntie with a transparent shower cap on. Don’t ask me why she’s wearing that. Logically speaking, I believe it is to avoid strands of her hair falling onto her wares. She didn’t need to go that far; I mean we all wash our veggies before the wok, right? Maybe it’s to hold onto her hair that’s all, besides I’m thinking way deeply into something that’s even irrelevant.

In the back of my mind, I know that fish sauce is the essence of Thai and Vietnamese cuisines. Into the basket that bottle went. Ah, what’s a fish dish without the fish itself; a medium sized garoupa cost me RM46. I even bagged six squids for the next day’s dinner. Not forgetting two heads of garden lettuce to wrap them all up in. Dad would like that.

For dinner that night, the fish turned out delicious! A try and error process, but tasted splendid once I add a tablespoon of sugar into the mixture. And it goes along with strips of fried omelette and long beans. 

Bon appetite!
Vonnie S.