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Rich Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe for Pasta, Meatballs and Parmas. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Rich Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe for Pasta, Pizza, Meatballs, Parmas and More

Make this classic Italian tomato sauce recipe for an incredibly rich tomato sauce that can be served with pasta or meatballs and spread onto pizza bases or parmas and you’ll never buy a store-bought jar of ready-made Italian pasta sauce again. Quick and easy, it tastes like it’s been simmering for hours. The key ingredient: a can of tomatoes.

This quick and easy Italian tomato sauce recipe for pasta, meatballs, pizza, and parmas will make you a deliciously rich homemade tomato sauce based on the classic Italian tomato pasta sauce made in kitchens all over Italy every single day – with just a few tiny tweaks I’ll explain below.

This recipe gets used in my juicy Italian meatballs recipe, my spaghetti with meatballs recipe and my recipe for Italian-Australian chicken parmigiana or chicken parma, as we call the breaded chicken cutlets topped with tomato sauce and mozzarella.   

Before I tell you about my rich Italian tomato sauce recipe, I have to tell you that in Italy there is no such thing as one all-purpose tomato sauce, rather there are tomato sauces, passatas and tomato pastes that each have different uses and I’ll come back to that in a future post.

But we are not in Italy and we don’t have access to an abundance of beautiful, plump, ripe Italian tomatoes to make our own passata, let alone fresh Italian basil most of the time, so my rich Italian tomato sauce recipe serves us very well.

My recipe is actually quite similar to the classic Italian tomato sauce recipe for sugo al pomodoro – the same tomato pasta sauce that our long-time readers might remember Maria, the caretaker of the trullo we stayed at in Alberobello, Puglia, teaching Terence after his lessons in making orecchiette.

I’ll tell you more about Maria’s sugo al pomodoro and this homemade Italian tomato sauce recipe below. My recipe is the first in a series of posts on some of our favourite classic Italian-style recipes.

Now before I tell you about our Italian tomato sauce recipe, I have a favour to ask. Grantourismo is reader-funded. If you’ve cooked our recipes and enjoyed them, please consider supporting Grantourismo by supporting our epic Cambodian cuisine history and cookbook on Patreon, which you can do for as little as the price of a coffee. Or you could buy us a coffee and we’ll use our coffee money to buy cooking ingredients for recipe testing.

Another option is to use links on our site to buy travel insurance, rent a car or campervan or motorhome, book accommodation, or book a tour on Klook or Get Your Guide. Or buy something on Amazon, such as these cookbooks for culinary travellers, James Beard award-winning cookbooks, cookbooks by Australian chefs, classic cookbooks for serious cooks, travel books to inspire wanderlust, and gifts for Asian food lovers and picnic lovers. We may earn a small commission but you won’t pay any extra.

Lastly, you could browse our Grantourismo store for gifts for food lovers, including food themed reusable cloth face masks designed with Terence’s images. Now let me tell you all about my Italian tomato sauce recipe.

Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe for Pasta, Pizza, Meatballs and Parmas

This quick and easy Italian tomato sauce recipe will make you an amazingly rich homemade tomato sauce that you can use for pasta, meatballs, pizza, and parmas. It’s based on the traditional Italian tomato pasta sauce that’s cooked every day in homes all over Italy – with just a few teensy tweaks.

I’ve been making this Italian style tomato sauce as long as I’ve been cooking Italian food, which is about as long as I’ve been cooking full stop, and it’s based on the tomato pasta sauce my uncle used to make – an uncle who used to test if his spaghetti was ready by flinging a strand up to the ceiling and seeing if it stuck!

It’s hard to beat Maria’s sugo al pomodoro recipe which I linked to above. That was easily the best Italian tomato pasta sauce we’d ever eaten in our lives. Which is saying something, considering that prior to that Puglia trip we’d criss-crossed Italy many times over more than a decade, both for holidays and work, researching and writing guides.

That means we’d tasted thousands of Italian tomato-based pasta sauces in Italy, not to mention the countless times we’d eaten Italian food abroad, as well as cooked by Italians and Italian-Australians back home in Australia. It was that good!

But it’s impossible to recreate Maria’s sugo al pomodoro as it was made with Maria’s own home-grown ingredients. Almost everything came from Maria’s Alberobello farm, from the massive bunch of 9-month old vine-ripened cherry tomatoes that she hung up in our kitchen to the olive oil she gave us, made from olives in her own orchard, which she pressed herself.

If the ingredients for Maria’s Italian tomato sauce recipe didn’t come from her own farm, it came from just outside our kitchen door, from the garden of the Alberobello trullo we were staying in. Mid-way through demonstrating her sugo al pomodoro recipe, Maria popped outside to pick some fresh basil and some oloro or fresh bay leaves off a laurel tree.

Best Meatballs Recipe for the Tastiest Juiciest Italian Meatballs. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

That’s hard to beat, unless you live in Italy – or have your own farm in a Mediterranean style climate where you age your own home-grown tomatoes, grow your own basil, and make your own olive oil from olives in your own orchard, and so on.

Sadly, we don’t have any of those here in tropical Cambodia! Which is why outside Italy – or Mediterranean Europe or Australia – I use this easy Italian tomato sauce recipe that I’ve been making for decades, and it’s the next best thing.

This Italian tomato sauce recipe has the simplicity of Maria’s sugo al pomodoro for starters. I’ve noticed over the years that so many homemade tomato pasta sauce recipes have a tendency to include so many ingredients – all kinds of dried herbs, loads of spices and other seasonings, cheeses, and so on.

Which is perfectly fine if you’re making a cheesy herby tomato pasta sauce recipe, but it shouldn’t be called an Italian tomato sauce recipe. If you read Terence’s story about his cooking lesson with Maria you would have noticed that she questioned the ingredients Terence used in his tomato pasta sauce.

Simplicity is what Italian cooking is all about, because recipes don’t need to be overly complicated when you have such fantastic fresh ingredients that are full of flavour and you follow cooking Italian techniques.

So what are my tweaks to the classic Italian tomato pasta sauce recipe? I’ll tell you in my tips below.

Best Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe for a Comforting Home Cooked Meal from Scratch. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Tips to Making this Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe

Just a few tips to making this Italian tomato pasta sauce recipe. Let’s start with the tomatoes. I’ve skipped fresh tomatoes altogether as it’s not always possible for many of us to get fresh tomatoes of the quality available in Italy. We certainly can’t get them here in Cambodia.

I also wanted to show you how quick and easy it is to make an incredibly rich Italian tomato pasta sauce. There’s no need to simmer the sauce for hours. The not-so-secret secret is to cook it quickly on high heat. Whereas if you use fresh tomatoes that aren’t great, it’s going to take you some time to reduce the tomatoes.

Spend any time with Italian home-cooks like Maria and you’ll learn that fresh is always best – except when it comes to tomatoes. That’s not to say that tinned tomatoes are necessarily better than fresh tomatoes. In most cases in Italy, they’re not.

But a good Italian canned tomato brand will can top quality tomatoes at their peak, preserving their sweetness and robust flavours, which can be hard to match unless you’re growing your own tomatoes or can source the best quality tomatoes, such as the vine-ripened tomatoes that Maria gave us. Even Maria tossed a tin of tomatoes into her sugo al pomodoro – well, three quarters of a tin.

My recipe calls for two tins of tomatoes, as well as a little tomato paste, which Maria’s sugo de pomodoro definitely doesn’t include to make up for the fact that I don’t have access to beautiful aged vine-ripened tomatoes and you might not either.

If you can’t source good quality canned Italian tomatoes – look at them and taste them from the tin and you’ll quickly be able to ascertain the quality; if they’re not a vibrant red colour and are more orange-red with a little yellow-green and they taste a tad acidic, then they’re not going to be great – then add the optional sugar and maybe a little extra salt.

Other than that, just make sure to use the best quality ingredients you can source and afford, from the garlic and fresh basil to the extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. 

Next up is my post on using this tomato sauce with Italian-style meatballs and not just any meatballs but the juiciest most flavourful Italian-style meatballs you’ll ever make.

Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe

Rich Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe for Pasta, Meatballs and Parmas. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Rich Italian Tomato Sauce Recipe for Pasta, Pizza, Meatballs, Parmas and More

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Make this Italian tomato sauce recipe for an incredibly rich tomato pasta sauce that can be served with any kind of pasta or meatballs and spread onto pizza bases or parmas, and you’ll never buy a store-bought jar of Italian pasta sauce again. Quickly made, it tastes like it’s been simmering on the stove for hours. The key ingredient: a can of tomatoes.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Course: Sauce
Cuisine: Italian
Servings: 4
Calories: 185kcal
Author: Lara Dunston

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 6 garlic cloves peeled and lightly pounded in a mortar and pestle
  • ½ tsp chilli flakes
  • 1 large whole onion peeled, finely diced
  • 2 400 g cans crushed tomatoes best quality you can source
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp sugar – optional
  • 1 tbsp fresh basil leaves torn or roughly chopped – optional

Instructions

  • To a large frying pan or skillet, over medium-high heat, add the extra virgin olive oil and heat, then add the garlic cloves and fry for a minute or so until fragrant, then add the chilli flakes, stirring well with a wooden spoon or spatula to combine.
  • When the garlic cloves start to brown and sizzle and splutter, remove the cloves and set them aside but do not discard.
  • Immediately add the finely diced onions to the pan and fry, stirring only occasionally so the onions don’t burn and adjusting the heat as necessary, until they’re soft, almost translucent and aromatic.
  • Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, and sea salt, and stir to combine well. If you’re a garlic lover, return the garlic cloves to the sauce now; if you’re not, leave them out.
  • Turn the heat to high so the sauce is bubbling. It will reduce fairly quickly on high heat, so stir the sauce occasionally.
  • When the tomato sauce is thick and luscious, turn the heat to low, taste, and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if needed; if it’s a little acidic, add some sugar. If you’re a fan of basil, add the leaves now and stir to combine.
  • If serving with pasta or meatballs – add the cooked pasta and/or meatballs to the pan and simmer a little before plating. Otherwise, remove from the heat, leave to cool, then transfer to a jar and refrigerate for later use. It’s fantastic spread onto pizza or parmas.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Sodium: 1365mg | Potassium: 441mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 440IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 54mg | Iron: 2mg

Please do let us know in the comments below if you make my Italian tomato sauce recipe, as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.

Support our Cambodia Cookbook & Culinary History Book with a donation or monthly pledge on Patreon.

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About Lara Dunston

A travel and food writer who has experienced over 70 countries and written for The Guardian, Australian Gourmet Traveller, Feast, Delicious, National Geographic Traveller, Conde Nast Traveller, Travel+Leisure Southeast Asia, DestinAsian, TIME, CNN, The Independent, The Telegraph, Sunday Times Travel Magazine, AFAR, Wanderlust, International Traveller, Get Lost, Four Seasons Magazine, Fah Thai, Sawasdee, and more, as well as authored more than 40 guidebooks for Lonely Planet, DK, Footprint, Rough Guides, Fodors, Thomas Cook, and AA Guides.

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About Grantourismo

Lara and Terence are an Australian-born, Southeast Asia-based travel and food writers and photographers who have authored scores of guidebooks, produced countless travel and food stories, are currently developing cookbooks and guidebooks, and host culinary tours and writing and photography retreats in Southeast Asia.
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For Women Who are Afraid to Travel, Just Go! Make This the Year You Travel. Kek Soon, Bayon Temple, Siem Reap, Cambodia. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

For Women Who are Afraid to Travel, Just Go! Make This the Year You Travel

Classic Prawn Cocktail Recipe for the Retro Starter that Never Goes Out of Style. Valentines Day dinner recipes. Seafood recipes for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menus. Copyright © 2021 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Valentines Day Dinner Recipes Because Nothing Says I Love You Like Home Cooked Food

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Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check o Still looking for Christmas cooking inspo? Check out our seafood recipe collection, especially if you celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve with a fish focused meal in the Southern Italian tradition, transformed by Italian-Americans into the Feast of the Seven Fishes, or like Australians, who celebrate Christmas in the sweltering summer, feast on seafood for Christmas Day lunch, we’ve got lots of easy seafood recipes for you.

Our recipes include a classic prawn cocktail, blini with smoked salmon, a ceviche-style appetiser, and devilled eggs with caviar. We’ve also got recipes for fish soup, seafood pies and pastas, salmon tray bake, and crispy salmon with creamy mashed potatoes.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/seafood-recipes-for-christmas-eve-and-christmas-day-menus/
(Link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas if you’re celebrating!! 

#christmas #christmasfood #seafood #fish #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #grantourismo #grantourismotravels #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you’re still looking for food inspo for Chris If you’re still looking for food inspo for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day meals, my smoked salmon ‘carpaccio’ recipe is one of dozens of recipes in this compilation of our best Christmas recipes (link below). 

The Christmas recipe compilation includes collections of our best Christmas breakfast recipes, best Christmas brunch recipes, best Christmas starter recipes, best Christmas cocktails, best Christmas dessert recipes, and homemade edible Christmas gifts and more.

My smoked salmon carpaccio recipe makes an easy elegant appetiser that’s made in minutes. If you’re having guests over, you can make the dish ahead by assembling the salmon, capers and pickled onions, and refrigerate it, then pour on the dressing just before serving. 

Provide toasted baguette slices and bowls of additional capers, pickles and dressing, so guests can customise their carpaccio. And open the bubbly!

You’ll find that recipe and many more Christmas recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/best-christmas-recipes/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Merry Christmas!! X

#christmas #christmasfood #recipes #christmasrecipes #foodstagram #salmon #smokedsalmon #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood #picoftheday #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels 
#xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas
If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I sh If you haven’t visited our site in a while, I shared a collection of recipes for homemade edible Christmas gifts — for condiments, hot sauces, chilli oils, a whole array of pickles, spice blends, chilli salt, furakake seasoning, and spicy snacks, such as our Cambodian and Vietnamese roasted peanuts. 

I love giving homemade edibles as gifts as much as I love receiving them. Who wouldn’t appreciate jars filled with their favourite chilli oils, hot sauces, piquant pickles, and spicy peanuts that loved-ones have taken the time to make? 

Aside from the gesture and affordability of gifting homemade edibles, you’re minimising waste. You can use recycled jars or if buying new mason jars or clip-top Kilner jars, you know they’ll get repurposed.

No need for wrapping, just attach some Christmas baubles or tinsel to the lid. I used squares of Cambodian kramas (cotton scarves), which can be repurposed as napkins or drink coasters, and tied a ribbon or two around the lids, and attached last year’s Christmas tree decorations to some.

You’ll find the recipes here: https://grantourismotravels.com/homemade-edible-christmas-gifts/ (link in bio if you’re seeing this on IG)

Yes, that’s Pepper... every time there’s a camera around... 

#christmasgiftideas #ediblegifts ##christmasfoodgifts #foodgifts #giftideas #homemadegifts #christmasfood #ediblegiftideas #hotsauce #chillisauce #sriracha #pickles #homemadepickles #recipes #foodstagram #foodblogger #food #foodlover #igfood 
#blackcat #blackcatsofinstagram #picoftheday 
#christmas #christmastree #xmas #merrychristmas #happychristmas #cambodia #siemreap
This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’ This crab omelette is a decadent eggs dish that’s perfect if you’re just back from the fish markets armed with luxurious fresh crab meat. It’s a little sweet, a little spicy, and very, very moreish.

Our crab omelette recipe was one of our 22 most popular egg recipes of 2022 on our website Grantourismo and it’s no surprise. It’s appeared more times than any other egg recipes on our annual round-ups of most popular recipes since Terence launched Weekend Eggs when we launched Grantourismo in 2010.

If you’re an eggs lover, do check out the recipe collection. It includes egg recipes from right around the world, from recipes for classic kopitiam eggs from Singapore and Malaysia and egg curries from India and Myanmar to all kinds of egg recipes from Thailand, Japan, Korea, China, Mexico, USA, Australia, UK, and Ireland.

And do browse our Weekend Eggs archives for further eggspiration (sorry). We have hundreds of egg recipes from the 13 year-old series of recipes for quintessential egg dishes from around the world, which we started on our 2010 year-long global grand tour focused on slow, local and experiential travel. 

We’re hoping 2023 will be the year we can finally publish the Weekend Eggs cookbook we’ve talked about for years based on that series. After we can find a publisher for the Cambodia cookbook of course... :( 

Recipe collection here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio):
https://grantourismotravels.com/22-most-popular-egg-recipes-of-2022-from-weekend-eggs/

If you cook the recipe and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either in the comments at the end of the recipe or share a pic with us here.

#recipe #recipes #eggs #eggslover #breakfasteggs #WeekendEggs #egg #breakfast #brunch #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #foodblog #food #foodstagram #instafood  #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #lookingforapublisher #writingacookbook  #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angko I’m late to share this, but a few days ago Angkor Archaeological Park, home to stupendous Angkor Wat, pictured, celebrated 30 years of its UNESCO World Heritage listing. 

That’s as good an excuse as any to put this magnificent, sprawling archaeological site on your travel list this year.

While riverside Siem Reap, your base for exploring Angkor is bustling once more, there are still nowhere near the visitors of the last busy high season months of December-January 2018-2019 when there were 290,000 visitors. 

Last month there were just 55,000 visitors and December feels a little quieter. A tour guide friend said there were about 150 people at Angkor Wat for sunrise a few days ago.

If you’re looking for tips to visiting Angkor, Siem Reap and Cambodia, just ask us a question in the comments below or check Grantourismo as we’ve got loads of info on our site. Click through to the link in the bio and explore our Cambodia guide or search for ‘Angkor’. 

And please do let us know if you’re coming to Siem Reap. We’d love to see you here x

#siemreap #cambodia #asia #travel #instatravel #traveldeeper #slowtravel #localtravel #experientialtravel #exploremore #neverstopexploring #goexplore #igtravel #angkorwat #angkor #temple #temples #angkorwithoutcrowds #unesco #unescoworldheritagesite #unescoworldheritage #archaeology #archaeologicalsite #traveladdict #beautifuldestinations #beautifulplaces #travelgram #wanderlust #picoftheday📷 #grantourismotravels.
Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky Our soy ginger chicken recipe will make you sticky, flavourful and succulent chicken thighs that are fantastic with steamed rice, Chinese greens or a salad, such as a Southeast Asian slaw. 

The chicken can be marinated for up to 24 hours before cooking, which ensures it’s packed with flavour, then it can be cooked on a barbecue or in a pan.

Terence’s soy ginger chicken recipe is one of our favourite recipes for a quick and easy meal. I love the sound of the sizzling thighs in the pan, and the warming aromas wafting through the apartment. 

It’s amazing how such flavourful juicy chicken thighs come from such a quick and easy recipe.

Recipe here (and proper link to Grantourismo in our bio): https://grantourismotravels.com/soy-ginger-chicken-recipe/

If you cook it and enjoy it please let us know — we love to hear from you — either here or in the comments at the end of the recipe on the site or share a pic with us x 

#recipe #recipes #chicken #soygingerchicken #asianfood #southeastasianfood #igfood #igfoodie #cooking #cookingtime #recipe #recipes #comfortfood #foodblog #food #foodstagram #healthyfood #instafood #healthy #instafoodie #foodie #foodies #foodlover #foodpics #foodporn #foodphotography #foodwriter #foodblogger #recipedeveloper #writingacookbook #grantourismo #grantourismotravels
Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re mak Who can guess the ingredients and what we’re making with my market haul from Psar Samaki in Siem Reap — all for a whopping 10,000 riel (US$2.50)?! 

Birds-eye chillies thrown in for free! They were on my list but the seller I spent most at (5,000 riel!) scooped up a handful and slipped them into my bag. She was my last stop and knew what I was making.

My Khmer is poor, even after all our years in Cambodia, as I don’t learn languages with the ease I did in my 20s, plus I’m mentally exhausted after researching and writing all day. I have a better vocabulary of Old and Middle Khmer than modern Khmer from studying the ancient inscriptions for the Cambodian culinary history component of our cookbook I’m writing.

So when one seller totalled my purchases I thought she said 5,000 riel but she handed back 4,500 riel! The sum total of two huge bunches of herbs and kaffir lime leaves was 500 riel.

Tip: if visiting Siem Reap, use Khmer riel for local shopping. We’ve mainly used riel since the pandemic started— rarely use US$ now as market sellers quote prices in riels, as do local shops and bakeries, and I tip tuk tuk drivers in riels. I find prices quoted in riels are lower.

Psar Samaki is cheaper than Psar Leu, which is cheaper than Psar Chas, as it’s a wholesale market, which means the produce is fresher. I see veggies arriving, piled high in the back of vehicles, with dirt still on them — as I did on this trip. 

The scent of a mountain of incredibly aromatic pineapples offloaded from the back of a dusty ute was so heady they smelt like they’d just been cut. More exotic European style veggies arrive by big trucks in boxes labelled in Vietnamese (from Dalat) and Mandarin (from China), such as beautiful snow-white cauliflower I spotted.

Note: the freshest produce is sold on the dirt road at the back of the market.

#cambodia #siemreap #foodwriter #foodblogger #foodphotography #igfood #foodstagram #instafood #instafoodie #foodie #instadaily #picoftheday #market #siemreapmarket #psarsamaki #marketfresh #vegetables #healthyfood #marketshopping #traveltips #foodtravel #culinarytravel #localtravel #cooking #cookingtime #curry #homemade #currypaste #grantourismotravels
My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recip My Vietnamese-ish meatballs and rice noodles recipe makes tender meatballs doused in a delightfully tangy-sweet sauce, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots, with carrot-daikon, crunchy cucumber and fragrant herbs. 

The dish is inspired by bún chả, a Hanoi specialty, but it’s not bún chả. No matter what Google or food bloggers tell you. Names are important, especially when cooking and writing about cuisines not our own.

This is an authentic bún chả recipe:  https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-bun-cha-recipe/ You’ll need to get the outdoor BBQ/grill going to do proper smoky bún chả meat patties (not meatballs).

My meatball noodle bowl is perhaps more closely related to dishes such as a Central Vietnam cousin bún thịt nướng (pork skewers on rice noodles in a bowl) and a Southern relation bún bò Nam Bộ (beef atop rice noodles, sprinkled with fried shallots (Nam Bộ=Southern Vietnam) though neither include meatballs. 

Xíu mại= meatballs although they’re different in flavour to mine, which taste more like bún chả patties. Xíu mại remind me of Southern Italian meatballs in tomato sauce.

In Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to millions of Khmer, there’s bánh tằm xíu mại. Bánh tằm=silk worm noodles. They’re topped with meatballs, cucumber, daikon, carrot, fresh herbs, crispy fried onions. Difference: cold noodles doused in a sauce of coconut cream and fish sauce. 

Remove the meatballs, add chopped fried spring rolls and it’s Cambodia’s banh sung, which is a rice noodle salad similar to Vietnam’s bún chả giò :) 

Recipe here: (link in bio) https://grantourismotravels.com/vietnamese-meatballs-and-rice-noodles-recipe/

For more on these culinary connections you’ll have to wait for our Cambodian cookbook and culinary history. In a hurry to know? Come support the project on Patreon. (link in bio)

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It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour It is pure coincidence that Pepper’s eye colour matches the furnishings of our rented apartment. So, no, I did not colour-coordinate the interiors to match our cat’s eyes. 

I keep getting DMs from pet clothing brands wanting to “partner” with Pepper and send her free cat clothes and cat accessories. Although she did wear a kerchief for a few years in her more adventurous fashion-forward teenage years, I cannot see this cat in clothes now, can you? 

#pepper #blackcat #blackcats #blackcatsofinstagram #blackcatsrule #blackcatsmatter #cat #cats #catsofinstagram #catstagram #catlover #catlovers #catlove #catoftheday #catphoto #catpic #catpics #cambodiancat #cambodiancatsofinstagram #catlife #catloversclub #catoftheday #catgram #catstagram #cats_of_instagram #catphotography #catsofig #catsoftheworld #catsofinsta #cats🐱 #siemreap #cambodia

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