Kho

Thịt kho
Type	Stew
Place of origin	Vietnam
Region or state	Southeast Asia
Associatedcuisine	Vietnamese andCambodian
Main ingredients	Nước màu (caramel sauce),water orcoconut juice,fish sauce orsoy sauce, and spices

Kho (chữ Nôm:𤋹,𪹜, meaning "tosimmer", "tobraise", or "tostew")^[1] is a traditionalVietnamesecooking technique^[2] where aprotein source, such asbeef,pork,poultry,fish,shrimp, orfriedtofu, ismarinated infish sauce orsoy sauce and spices, such aspepper,garlic,shallot, andginger, then simmered on medium-low heat in a mixture ofnước màu (caramel sauce) and water or a water substitute, such ascoconut juice. The resultingkho dish is sweet, salty, and savory, and meant to be eaten withsteamed rice.^[3]

TheVietnamese believe that thekho cooking method was born out of need.^[4]

For most ofVietnam's history,its economy was oriented aroundsubsistence agriculture andsubsistence fishing and did not generate a great deal of wealth.^[5] Most Vietnamese were, therefore, just poor peasants, who worked asfarmers andfishermen, 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.^[4][3]

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 didn't always have access to more-costly preferred cuts.^[4][6]

Second,kho dishes can be modified to encourage eating a great deal of rice and little meat. By adjusting some of the ingredients, these dishes can be made to be mild orintensely sweet and/or salty. The latter option forces diners to consume: (1) less of thekho dish, which is mainly meat, the most expensive part of the meal, and (2) much more rice, which makes up the cheapest component of the meal. Appetites can, thus, be satiated inexpensively, a plus for Vietnamese peasant families.^[4][7]

From the above reasoning, one can see howkho was born out of necessity during Vietnam's impoverished past. Even thoughVietnam has become a prosperous nation following theĐổi Mới reforms that were initiated in 1986,^[8] this economical cooking method continues to be employed by a vast majority of the population. Essentially, what started out as just poor peasant food is now served and eaten at the tables of basically all Vietnamese households regardless ofsocioeconomic status.^[1][3]

Below is a list ofkho dishes from most to least popular:

• Bò kho – A type ofbeef (bò) stew.
• Thịt kho trứng – Apork (thịt) andegg (trứng) stew.
• Cá kho tộ – A dish offish (cá) braised in aclay pot (tộ) considered to be very old.^[9] The dish is traditionally made usingcatfish orsnakehead fish, both of which are cheap and found in abundance in theMekong Delta, where the dish is believed to have originated.^[10]
• Gà kho gừng –Chicken (gà) withginger (gừng). Chickens, especially those raised and eaten in Vietnam, can sometimes have a slightly gamey flavor. Chickenkho is usually prepared with ginger to remove this unsavory taste.^[11]
• Kho chay – Avegetarian (chay) alternative of braisedtofu andmushrooms that is particularly enjoyed by Vietnam's religious majority, theMahayana Buddhists, who, because of their beliefs, mustrefrain from consuming meat.^[3][12]

There are also vegetarian versions of all the abovekho dishes that useimitation meat in lieu of the animal proteins that the original recipes call for: (1)bò kho chay,^[13] (2)thịt kho trứng chay,^[14] (3)cá kho tộ chay,^[15] and (4)gà kho gừng chay.^[16]

As is customary in Vietnam, all the aforementioned mains are served with a side ofsteamed rice,^[1] except forbò kho, which is more commonly eaten with various types ofnoodles or a simplebaguette.^[17][18][19]

• 
  Bò kho
• 
  Thịt kho trứng
• 
  Cá kho tộ
• 
  Gà kho gừng

This cooking technique has been adopted into theculinary repertoire of neighboringCambodia, where it is calledkha (Khmer:ខ), aloanword fromVietnamesekho.^[20][21]

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