Kho (cooking technique)

Kho (Vietnamese: [xɔ˧], chữ Nôm: 𤋹,𪹜, meaning "to simmer", "to braise", or "to stew") is a traditional Vietnamese cooking technique where a protein source, such as beef, pork, poultry, fish, shrimp, or fried tofu, is marinated in fish sauce or soy sauce and spices, such as pepper, garlic, shallot, and ginger, then simmered on medium-low heat in a mixture of nước màu (caramel sauce) and water or a water substitute, such as coconut juice. The resulting kho dish is sweet, salty, and savory, and meant to be eaten with steamed rice.

Origin

The Vietnamese believe that the kho cooking method was born out of need.

For most of Vietnam's history, its economy was oriented around subsistence agriculture and subsistence fishing and did not generate a great deal of wealth. Most Vietnamese were, therefore, just poor peasants, who worked as farmers and fishermen, trying to make ends meet. Kho was created and became popular within their demographic because it helped them stretch the very limited budgets that they had for food in two distinct ways.

First, kho is a technique where protein sources can be simmered for a long time to make them much more tender. Therefore, tougher, and thus cheaper, cuts of meat can be utilized. This appealed to Vietnamese peasants, who did not always have access to more costly preferred cuts.

Second, kho dishes can be modified to encourage eating a great deal of rice and little meat.