Nuoc Cham is a Vietnamese dipping sauce a staple in Vietnamese cuisine. This chili-garlic sauce is used in a variety of Vietnamese dishes. Nuoc cham is made of fish sauce, rice wine vinegar, sugar, garlic, chili, and lime juice. It’s got a wonderful balance of pungent, salty, sweet, spicy, and tang and makes everything taste better.
Looking for more inspiration? Try Korean gochujang sauce that can be used in Korean fried chicken recipes and spicy Korean mayo.
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Umami packed sauce
- Whether you drizzle or dunk in it, it always provides a unique depth of flavor.
- The sauce is light and refreshing.
- It has complex flavors but is made using simple ingredients.
- Don’t worry, the sauce does not taste all fishy when combined with other ingredients.
- You can tweak and adjust the flavors every time you make. Somedays I add more lime juice and some days I add more fish sauce. Make your variation.
- This may not be the authentic Vietnamese dipping sauce recipe, but it sure has tons of flavors that’ll blow your mind. For an extra kick experiment with schezwan sauce, again not authentic Vietnamese flavors, but it sure oomphs it up.
- Drizzle over lettuce cups, and noodles salad, great as a dip for fresh spring rolls, and can also be used as a marinade for chicken, beef, and pork.
- The sauce will be kept for months (without carrot and fresh lime juice) in the refrigerator.
Have you tried Vietnamese pickled carrots and daikon? It’s perfect with banh mi, grilled pork and noodles, com tom, noodles bowls, and more.
Ingredients
- Fish sauce – fish sauce quality varies from brand to brand. Go for the premium quality fish sauce, it makes a big difference.
- Vinegar – rice vinegar or rice wine vinegar works best when making the sauce.
- Sugar – helps balance the sauce with mild sweetness. If you wish to make it sweeter, add more sugar.
- Chili – use Thai red chilies, and bird eye chili for an authentic taste. Other types of fresh red chilies can also be used if Thai red chilies aren’t available. Chilies add a spicy kick to the sauce.
- Lime – freshly squeezed lime juice. It brightens the sauce with acidity.
- Garlic – adds savory aroma and flavor.
- Sweet chili sauce (optional) – makes the sauce extra spicy with a hint of sweetness.
- Carrot – adds crunch to the bite, it also helps enhance the tang flavor by a hint.
Variations
- Rice vinegar can be substituted with white distilled vinegar.
- If you plan to store for a week, use white vinegar for lime juice. Also, hold adding shredded carrots. You can stir in shredded carrot to the sauce just before serving.
- Feel free to use any spicy chili. If you can’t get red chilies, use chili paste.
- Add more garlic if you love the garlicky flavor.
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: In a bowl mix fish sauce, water, rice wine vinegar, sugar, sweet chili sauce, freshly squeezed lime juice, diced red chilies, and minced garlic. Mix well until sugar is dissolved. Taste and adjust flavors according to your preference.
Step 2: When ready to serve mix in shredded carrot.
Enjoy as a dipping sauce, use it as a marinade, or drizzle over Vietnamese dishes.
Nuoc cham serving ideas
Drizzle the sauce over Vietnamese rice or noodles dishes.
Use it as a dip for egg rolls, fresh spring rolls, and banh xeo.
It can also be used as a marinade. Add shredded lemongrass to it and use it to marinate chicken, beef, or pork.
Recipe FAQs
Nuoc mam is the generic term for sauce, and it can be any type of sauce such as fermented brown fish sauce, soy sauce, or chili sauce.
Nuoc mam refers to a dipping sauce version, it translates to ‘mixed fish sauce’. That is fish sauce mixed with lime, chili, garlic, sugar, and some water.
Transfer it to a glass airtight container and store it in the refrigerator. It can be stored for a couple of months. Hold the carrot if you plan to store it longer. Stir shredded carrot just before serving.
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📋Nuoc cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce)
Ingredients
- ¼ cup fish sauce use premium quality sauce
- 3 tablespoons water
- 2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar or white distilled vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed
- 2 tablespoons white granular sugar
- 1 teaspoon sweet chili sauce or any Asian chili sauce (optional)
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Thai red chili use more if you like it spicy
- 1 tablespoon carrot shredded
Instructions
- In a bowl mix fish sauce, water, rice wine vinegar, sugar, sweet chili sauce, freshly squeezed lime juice, diced red chilies and minced garlic. Mix well until sugar is dissolved.
- Taste and adjust flavors according to your preference.
- When ready to serve mix in shredded carrot.
- Enjoy as a dipping sauce, use it as a marinade, or drizzle over Vietnamese dishes.
Video
Notes
- The quality of the fish sauce will affect the taste, use premium quality.
- Feel free to use any spicy chili, if you can’t get fresh red chilies use Asian chili paste.
- If you plan to store longer, use white vinegar for lime juice. Also, hold adding shredded carrots. You can stir in shredded carrot to the sauce just before serving.
Nutrition
Created by Jyothi Rajesh
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I’m Jyothi Rajesh (Jo for short) and I’m the founder of the food blog, Curry Trail where I share my culinary Adventures. I live in Bangalore, India. I’m a mom of two beautiful kids. My passion is creating and sharing delicious and easy recipes for the home cook. I have been blogging since 2014 and many of my recipes have appeared in both online and print publications over the years. Learn more about Jyothi Rajesh.
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