This is my mother's take on a compote that is traditionally served with tofu. When she makes it, she uses wonderful farmer's market tomatoes, and we eat it with anything from salmon to fried or scrambled eggs. It is very simple and standard template Vietnamese: it's essentially a central ingredient (tomatoes), high quality fish sauce, garlic, and sugar.

If using canned tomatoes, be sure to cook them thoroughly to get rid of the tinny taste. If using fresh, feel free to cook the tomatoes until they are at your level of done-ness. We range cooking times based on application and how chunky we want the sauce. Same goes for peeling the tomatoes; we don't mind the skin, but feel free to peel your tomatoes if you want more of a marinara-esque texture.