About this component
The bright, addictive fish-sauce dip that defines the Vietnamese table — sweet, sour, salty and fragrant with garlic and chile. Southern versions lean sweeter; northern ones are saltier and less sweet.
Component facts
- Yield
- About 1 cup (240 ml)
- Prep
- 10 minutes
- Heat
- Mild–Medium
Development draft. This is an untested development recipe from the cookbook project. It has not been kitchen-tested, and the quantities and timings are the author’s working draft rather than a verified result.
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) fish sauce
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) lime juice
- 2–3 tbsp (25–40 g) sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm water
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1–2 bird's eye chiles, minced
Method
- Dissolve the sugar in warm water.
- Stir in fish sauce and lime juice.
- Add garlic and chile; they float, a sign of a well-balanced sauce.
- Taste and adjust the four elements.
Notes from the book
- Balancing
- The classic four-way balance; tune water to soften and lime to brighten. Garlic should float.
- Substitutions
- Rice vinegar for part of the lime; thin soy sauce for a vegetarian nuoc cham chay.
- Storage and food safety
- Refrigerate up to 1 week. Contains fish (allergen).
The Complete Edition
Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce) sits in the foundations
The book carries this component alongside the other twenty-three, the twenty-seven pantry studies, and the Vietnam chapter it belongs to.
Available from Amazon
- Kindle edition — $9.99 (Kindle Store price) — available now
- Paperback — $49.99 (print list price) — available now