Name: Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce)
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 5 tbsp water; 1 tbsp lime juice; 1 1/4 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp garlic (minced); 1 tsp chillies (minced)

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Last updated on April 28th, 2024 at 08:48 pm

Look no more for a nuoc cham recipe that balances spicy, sweet, tangy and salty Vietnamese-inspired sauce, which is great as dipping sauce and dressing. Quick and easy plus it is ready in 5 minutes.

This is a recipe for Vietnamese dipping sauce-inspired all-purpose sauce. Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese sauce made by mixing and balancing water, lime juice, fish sauce and sugar. Garlic and chilli are added according to preference and commonly served as a dipping sauce for fried spring rolls, fish, grilled meats, noodles and many more.

Being a Filipino, I was introduced to the pungent but full of umami fish sauce which is one of the main ingredients of nuoc cham. This sauce makes a regular appearance on our table. My husband does not mind the smell which I am grateful for because I get to have a delightful fish sauce laden food whenever I want.

It goes well as a dipping sauce for many dishes that we normally have like fried tofu or drizzled over rice or noodles. We have a section in our kitchen with a variety of sauces inspired by places we have been to, you will find prik nam pla, tonkatsu sauce, nuoc cham, ssamjang and dipping sauces from the Philippines like artem and soy sauce vinegar.

Living outside my country of birth makes me appreciate what I used to have but thinks about home too. That does not mean that I just want to go home and drop everything because there are ways to make things easier like preparing food and introducing them to my daughter to connect with our culture. Although Vietnamese dipping sauce is not Filipino it is a way of educating my daughter to the flavors that Vietnam and the Philippines share like fish sauce, hence the appearance of nuoc cham on the table.

Ingredients needed to make nuoc cham

The ingredients are easy to find even in Western supermarkets so, let’s get making.

Water – warm water to help the sugar dissolve faster

Lime juice – use white vinegar if lime juice is unavailable

Fish sauce – the saltiness of fish sauce brands vary taste test as you go along

Sugar – table sugar but could be substituted with honey, agave nectar

Garlic – minced garlic, sliced so that it is easily fished out if someone does not want the garlic

Chillies – roughly chopped so that it would be easy to avoid for non-chilli lovers

How to make nuoc cham

Start with warm water. Add the sugar and give it a little stir to help the sugar dissolve. Squeeze in the lime juice. Do a taste test to check if the sweet and sour taste is balanced.

Add the fish sauce. Stir and taste, making sure the fish sauce flavor is quite strong. It is because this sauce will be added or dipped into food that is not salted.

You can stop here and it is ready to use. Optional ingredients like garlic, chillies and carrots could be added to the sauce. And now it is time to add some papow which means add in minced garlic and chillies. It is now ready to serve as a dipping sauce or a salad dressing.

What to serve with Vietnamese dipping sauce

This sauce is served as a dipping sauce for fried tofu or fish as I rarely make Vietnamese-style dishes. When I eventually make some my go-to sites to inspire me are Hungry Huy, Helen’s Recipes and Viet World Kitchen..

Storage

I prefer to make a little at a time and let sit at room temperature at the beginning of the day so the flavors have the time to meld.

Store in an airtight bottle or jar and keep in the fridge without the garlic and the chillies then just before serving add them in.

You might want to take a look at how the sauce is made by clicking here.

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