Vietnamese thick caramel sauce - Nước Màu

This recipe is from Hollie Phuong-Hong Nguyen 

Here is the recipe for "Nước Màu" (Thick Caramel) that I have promised some of you. I filmed my mom making it because she's my teacher, so you can see how it is done. 

Nước Màu only requires 2 simple ingredients: brown sugar blocks (đường thẻ) and water. 

However, it can be very tricky to get it right if you have never done it before. That's why I think it is best to show you via my mom making it through a video vs. sharing a written recipe. It is something you have to see visually in order to better grasp it. Reading a recipe will not cut it. The video will be about 30 minutes long (no editing), so you can see it from start to finish. Feel free to pass forward if you need to. I hope this is helpful. 

This is the secret to all my golden color braised dishes. I believe you're not a true Viet unless you have this staple in your pantry. This sauce is so versatile in all our Viet braised "kho" dishes (except thịt kho tàu. You don't need nước màu for that one). 

That jar will last you a long time and storage is just at room temperature. No refrigeration is needed. Has a very good shelf life even without all that preservatives.

Don't let the process intimidate you. Watch the clip. Give it a try. Once you use homemade nước màu, you'll never want to go back to that store-bought one again. Comment if you have any questions. Let me know how it goes if you decide to make it. I want you to succeed 😊.

Note:
*Use a deep sauce pan. The one we used is 2.5 quart size. And we used 1 pack of sugar blocks.

*Remember when you put the sugar blocks into the pan and turn the heat on medium to high, let them melt on their own. DO NOT STIR. That's the part I think many people don't know and that's where failure occurs. If you stir, you will cause it to "lợi đường", meaning the sugar will crystallize and then the whole thing will overflow and causes a big mess. Or because it overflows, you will keep trying to remove from and put back on the heat to control it. As a result, you'll end up create a disaster and you pretty much burn the whole thing before you know it.

1 pack of sugar blocks will give you 1/2 of this jar and it will last you a very long time. Store it at room temperature in your pantry or by your kitchen. No refrigeration is needed.