- ¼ cup Dry-Roasted Peanuts
- Scant 2 tablespoons tamarind pulp, dissolved in 2 tablespoons warm water, or substitute scant 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons peanut oil
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons ground pork
- 3 tablespoons fermented soybean paste (tuong in Vietnamese; dao jiao in Thai)
- About 1 cup water
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 to 2 bird chiles, minced
- Generous squeeze of fresh lime juice (optional)
- Place the peanuts in a food processor or large mortar and process or pound to a coarse powder; set aside. If using tamarind, press it through a sieve; reserve the liquid and discard the solids.
- Heat the oil in a wok or skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and stir-fry until it is starting to change color, about 15 seconds.
- Toss in the pork and use your spatula to break it up into small pieces.
- Once it all has changed color, add the soybean paste and the tamarind or tomato paste and stir to blend.
- Stir in ½ cup of the water, then stir in most of the ground peanuts, reserving about 1 tablespoon for garnish.
- Stir in the sugar and chiles. Add up to ½ cup more water, until you have the desired texture: a thick liquid, pourable but not watery.
- Serve in small individual condiment bowls or in one medium bowl with a spoon so guests can drizzle sauce onto their food or onto their plates. Serve warm or at room temperature, squeezing on the optional lime juice and sprinkling on the reserved ground peanuts just before serving.