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Too crazy of an idea?

Jolokia John

Jolokia John

My family befriended a huge family of Vietnamese refugees when I was a toddler, and as a result I grew up accustomed to Vietnamese food.  I wanted to construct a hot sauce that pays homage to the flavors of Vietnam while creating a different kind of challenge for the person tasting it.  The concept is to use ingredients that would be an assault upon the nose while being a pleasure (and pain) upon the mouth.  I was thinking of combining Vietnamese black dragon chilies, durian fruit, húng quế basil and nước mắm ( a fermented fish sauce/chili mixture).
 
What do you guys think?  Would this be too daring for people to be willing to try?
 
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Who's your target audience?

If it's people that eat hot chilies I'd guess that they would generally be open to trying new sauces.

How is Durian going to smell once it's mixed with the other ingredients, I'm tipping your sauce, whilst delicious, may be a bit on the nose ;)
 
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If your intent is to sell it to people, the sauce should have as broad an appeal as possible.

Scent is a huge part of our senses while eating and Americans in general wont eat anything that doesn't smel good.

I would be extremely cautious with this idea.
 
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i dont know if this will help or not but i have Vietnamese neighbors that i give peppers to every year and they like my Habanero's
and have commented that there very hot but they love them, they apparently where using them in there dishes
i think they where mixing them in with there "nuoc mam" fish sauce (i dont think i spelled that right but its pronounce "nuk mom")
its a black fish sauce that is used very readily in there cuisine
my suggestion would be to try a light Habanero flavor that will not overpower the base Vietnamese recipe as well as if your using fruit
 
trust me they do like it HOT!!
 
thanks your friend Joe
 
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I guess I will just make it for myself and keep it as a special reserve.  I can dare visiting friends to try it, the whole idea behind the sauce is that there is a reward for you bravery (getting past the smell), the delicious flavors that contradict the smell.  Much in the same way there is a reward for bearing the heat of a hot pepper to get the flavor it holds behind it . . .
 
I appreciate your input!  Thanks for entertaining me
 
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ajijoe said:
i dont know if this will help or not but i have Vietnamese neighbors that i give peppers to every year and they like my Habanero's
and have commented that there very hot but they love them, they apparently where using them in there dishes
i think they where mixing them in with there "nuoc mam" fish sauce (i dont think i spelled that right but its pronounce "nuk mom")
its a black fish sauce that is used very readily in there cuisine
my suggestion would be to try a light Habanero flavor that will not overpower the base Vietnamese recipe as well as if your using fruit
 
trust me they do like it HOT!!
 
thanks your friend Joe
Click to expand...
 
Hey Joe, (Hendrix playing in my head now, lol) I don't intend to appeal to the Vietnamese themselves with it, but rather share flavors that I have enjoyed from the culture with others.  The nuoc mam is not the plain black fish sauce as you are thinking, but rather a combination of the fish sauce with chili garlic sauce, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar and shredded carrot.  I guess the full name is nuoc mam cham.  If you ever have had Vietnamese fried spring rolls (Cha Gio), then most likely this sauce was served with it . . .
 
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Jolokia John said:
 
Hey Joe, (Hendrix playing in my head now, lol) I don't intend to appeal to the Vietnamese themselves with it, but rather share flavors that I have enjoyed from the culture with others.  The nuoc mam is not the plain black fish sauce as you are thinking, but rather a combination of the fish sauce with chili garlic sauce, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar and shredded carrot.  I guess the full name is nuoc mam cham.  If you ever have had Vietnamese fried spring rolls (Cha Gio), then most likely this sauce was served with it . . .
Click to expand...
yes i got that and that's another good reason i suggested the the use of Habanero in your recipe
 
yes that's the ethnic recipe and yes that is its full name
 
good luck and keep in touch with your findings
 
thanks your friend Joe
 
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Durian is a real monSter. Did you ever do it? Durian is the worst flavor on the face of the planet, especially for us westerners. Real nuoc mam is delicious tho. Btw viet cuisine is the best food ever, period.
 
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