Vegetable Medley with Tomato-Garlic Sauce

In oriental cooking, the preference is often for dipping sauces rather than for sauces that cover the food on the plate. In this recipe from Vietnam, each type of vegetable is blanched individually, thus making allowance for the different cooking requirements of each vegetable. Remember to plunge them immediately into cold water to prevent further cooking. The dipping sauce is quite lively, which is exactly what the plain, sweet, cool vegetables need. This is an ideal dish for a buffet and