Kho

Kho is a traditional Vietnamese cooking technique in which a protein such as beef, pork, poultry, fish, shrimp or tofu is marinated in fish sauce or soy sauce with pepper, garlic, shallot and ginger, then simmered on medium-low heat in a mixture of nuoc mau, a Vietnamese caramel sauce, with water or coconut juice; the word kho itself translates to simmer or braise. The resulting dish is sweet, salty and savory, meant to be eaten with steamed rice, and is traditionally cooked in a clay pot. Vietnamese cooks attribute the technique to farmers and fishermen who developed it to stretch tougher, cheaper cuts of meat and a limited food budget, and it remains widely used across Vietnamese households today.