[CH] Tuong Ot Toi

Rob Solarion (solarion@1starnet.com)
Fri, 21 Dec 2001 19:44:46 -0600 

Happy Holidays To All!

Recently I was at the Binh Minh Vietnam Market on Fitzhugh Avenue in Dallas
(between Bryan and Ross).  I went there to get some Sunflower Jasmine Tea
from Fujian Province in China (highly recommended!) and some hot sauce.
Usually I buy several bottles of "Tuong Ot Toi Viet-Nam" which translates
as "Vietnamese Chili Garlic Sauce/Paste", which is my absolutely favorite
hot sauce in the whole world, produced by the Huy Fong Company in
California; and I have written here about it before.  You can find more
information at their website.

http://www.huyfong.com/

This time I looked at the contents labels of various hot sauces and got a
bottle of one that looks identical to Viet-Nam but which was named "Tuong
Ot Toi Dac-Biet" which means "Special Chili Garlic Sauce/Paste".  I don't
like the flavor of this one very much.  It has that "smoke" flavor, like
Chipotle peppers, if I recall.  That is not one of my favorite flavors.
But, if you like this flavor and you like it HOT!, this one is for you!
This is a &%$^*#& HOT SAUCE!  With the Viet-Nam version, I can eat it right
out of the bottle to my heart's content.  With the Special version, no! --
not even if I liked the smoke flavor!  There is a definite "heat limit" to
eating this version plain out of the bottle.

Since I worked in Vietnam during the war, and since I have eaten a lot of
Vietnamese food both there and in US restaurants, I am a bit surprised by
this "smoke" flavor.  I have never encountered it before in connection with
VN food, so it may be a "California immigrant touch" to some traditional
hot sauce.  VN cuisine is often excellent and quite delicious, if you've
never tried it before.

On the bottle this Dac-Biet Paste is called "Golden Bell" and is made by:

D&D Gold Products Corporation
Santa Ana, California
tel. +714.560.0372

No website is listed on the bottle.

Merry MithraMas!  Roberto Solarion

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