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Learn how to make the Vietnamese Dipping Sauce called nuoc mam.
Nuoc mam is one of the most essential recipes to have on hand in Vietnamese cuisine. Nuoc mam is a chile, lime, sweet and sour dipping sauce that is often used as a vinaigrette. It is used and accompanied with a multitude of Vietnamese culinary dishes that helps bring out the flavor of dishes like spring rolls (cha gio), grilled pork and rice (thit nuong), and my all-time favorite pork and mushroom crepes (banh cuon).
For westerners trying Vietnamese dishes for the first time, some Vietnamese dishes can seem bland until they find out that dipping sauces like nuoc cham that are mandatory for bringing out the flavors of the dish! So if you want to taste and experience a Vietnamese cuisine in its full glory, you must take what seems like an optional side seasoning and add it to the dish after it’s presented in front of you. Nuoc mam is an essential recipe that you’ll want to have mastered (which is really easy to do) to bring out all the flavors.
Nuoc Mam is also known under the moniker of nuoc mam, nuoc mam cham, and nuoc mam pha. While each of these names refer to the same dipping sauce recipe, the translation means something a little different.
Nuoc mam pha means mixed fish sauce.
Nuoc mam cham means fish sauce for dipping
Nuoc mam means fish sauce.
Now, you’re probably wondering: Doesn’t nuoc mam mean the fish sauce that is the bottled version without the chili and sugar? That is a long-held heated debate among the Vietnamese community!
Nuoc mam can refer to the regular fish sauce which is the dark brown, fermented condiment that is used in Vietnamese cuisines. Brands that you may be familiar with are Squid Brand (Phu Quoc) and Three Crabs (Viet Huong).
Nuoc mam can also refer to the sweet chili, sugar garlic dipping sauce as well (the topic of this post).
As an analogy, it’s kind of like how some regions of the United States refer some soda pops as Coke, even though it might not be the brand Coke they are referring to.
I know this is very confusing if you are trying to understand Vietnamese cuisine, but it is an intense and mind bending debate on why the same description of a cuisine also is used for a specific ingredient.
So in short, nuoc mam can mean both bottled fish sauce or a dipping sauce that goes with various Vietnamese dishes.
Nuoc mam is prepared with a few differences among regions in Vietnam. For example, in northern regions, the dipping sauce is made with broth. In the heart of central Vietnam, they use less water and broth, which means the sauce tends to be stronger and bolder. In the southern areas, nuoc mam uses a base with coconut water.
The common ground is that nuoc mam recipes share the main ingredients of fish sauce, sugar, water, bird’s eyes chiles, and garlic.
The Various Adaptations of Vietnamese Nuoc Mam Recipes
With all these different regional differences, you’ll also see various ways Nuoc Mam has been adapted. For example, some recipes like mine will boil the sugar water to completely dissolve it while other recipes just have all of the ingredients diluted by just shaking it in a jar. Some of them also have you add Coco Rico Soda in place of water.
Even with all of the various adaptation of this dipping sauce, one thing remains true: the recipes in general for nuoc mam really easy to make. And if you store it in an airtight container, this delicious vinaigrette will stay good in the fridge for up to four months.
One thing you want to avoid is allowing the fish sauce ingredient to over power the entire recipe because different brands of fish sauce have different potent levels. The color and grade of nuoc mam may look different due to the nuoc mam that is actually used in the recipe. Nuoc mam comes in various colors and grades. For example, palm sugar tends to make nuoc mam darker.
In most Vietnamese restaurants, they make nuoc mam in large batches. For the acidic taste, they’ll use vinegar instead of lemons because it is more cost effective. You may also find that they won’t add minced garlic, but this is what makes homemade nuoc mam so great – you can add all the flavor without any shortcuts.
You’ll probably want to start with my recipe and perfect it to what your family loves, depending on whether they want a milder taste or sweeter flavor.
Common Vietnamese Cuisines that Use Nuoc Mam
Nuoc mam is a slightly sweet and tangy delicious dipping sauce that accompanies a lot of Vietnamese dishes, often as a dipping sauce or as a vinaigrette.
Vietnamese egg rolls and spring rolls use it as a dipping sauce to add a bolder flavor.
Grilled pork (thit nuong) over a bed of rice and fried egg uses nuoc mam as a dressing that is absolutely delicious. The same goes for a similar recipe that uses vermicelli noodles.
Banh ot, which is a pork and mushroom crepe, uses this as a vinaigrette as well. It would taste completely bland without it.
Fried, roasted pork with the bubbly, crunchy pork skin along with the moist pork meat with this sweet and sour dipping sauce is divine and absolutely kicks the flavor of this dish up a notch.
There are so many recipes to use with nuoc mam, and these were only a few that I’ve listed. So if you plan on making Vietnamese recipes often (like the ones I share here), having a batch of this premade will definitely save you a ton of time.
Check out this article on different ways to use nuoc mam.
Special Trips to the Asian Grocer
As in all of my recipes, I call out anything that you may need specifically from a local Asian grocery store.
In this recipe, the only thing special that is needed is Squid Brand fish sauce. You may be able to find this at your traditional grocery store, but in most cases, you won’t. This is my favorite brand of fish sauce because it is a little bit milder than the ones you’ll tend to find in traditional grocery stores.
How to Make Traditional Nuoc Mam Fish Sauce
Recipe Note: This recipe calls for boiling the sugar and water first because it allows the sugar to completely dissolve for a smoother taste. In my recipe, I do not add palm sugar or use Coco Rico (coconut soda) like some others that you might find. This recipe uses ingredients that you already probably have in your pantry.
Adding the ingredients in small increments and batches goes a long way. Remember, this Vietnamese dipping sauce also acts like a vinaigrette dressing in some recipes, so it should be a little bolder and stronger than most dipping sauces.
Let’s talk about some of the ingredients and how they play a role in making this a delicious and delectable accompaniment to any Vietnamese dish that needs a bolder flavor.
Water
The majority of the volume of this dipping sauce will be made of sugar water.
Citrus/Acidic Flavor
Typically, lime is used for adding the kick. Often, you’ll see alternative options of this recipe calling for lemon, vinegar, or rice wine. I definitely prefer a freshly squeezed lime.
Fish Sauce
I prefer the Squid Brand fish sauce overall as it’s not as overpowering as some of the other brands.
Garlic
Often, recipes will call this optional. I honestly don’t think it’s optional, as it kicks up the flavor a notch.
Birds Eye Chile or Thai Chile
If you want a little heat, add in a chile to spice things up.
1/2 cup of water, for boiling 1/4 cup of sugar, for boiling 2 tablespoons of sugar 3 cloves of garlic 2 bird’s eye chiles (you can use Thai chiles) 3 tablespoons of fish sauce 3 tablespoons of lime juice, freshly squeezed 1/4 cup of cold water
Directions for Making the Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
In a small sauce pot, boil 1/2 cup of water with 1/4 cup of sugar on low heat until it’s completely dissolved. Once dissolved, set aside to let cool.
Next, use a food processor to mince the garlic, 2 bird’s eye chiles, and 2 tablespoons of sugar until minced and well mixed.
Once the sugar water is cooled, add in the mixture and stir well.
Next, add in the fish sauce and the lime juice. Stir until well blended. Next, add in 1/4 cup of cold water. Blend well.
Sample the nuoc mam and adjust as needed. You may need to add more of one of the ingredients depending on what is missing. For added sourness, add in lime juice. For added saltiness, add in fish sauce. For added sweetness, add sugar.
To store, pour it into an airtight container and put it in the refrigerator for up to 4 months.
Summary of Nuoc Mam and How to Make It
This is a quintessential vinaigrette in Vietnamese cuisine. There are a lot of variations that you’ll find that include different vinegars like white, distilled and rice whine to lime juice. While there’s no wrong way to make this dipping sauce, you’ll just want to make sure not to add too much fish sauce.
If you are looking for a recipe to try out with this vinaigrette dipping sauce, try my recipe for Vietnamese crispy egg rolls.
Make sure you adapt it as you go and make it your own, adjusting it to suit your own family’s taste buds.
If you love this Vietnamese steamed rice sheet recipe (banh uot) as much as our family does, please write a five star review and help me share on Facebook and Pinterest!
Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham / Nuoc Mam)
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A quick and easy recipe for Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham / Nuoc Mam) made with fish sauce with a balance of sweet, sour and salty flavors.
For this Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham / Nuoc Mam) recipe, you can find most of the ingredients at a local grocery store with the exception of fish sauce. If you can’t find fish sauce in the ‘International’ aisle of your grocery store, then you can find it at an Asian grocery store or online – but I highly recommend buying it locally, since fish sauce that has been leaked from a broken bottle during shipping is quite potent and smelly.
Whenever I make Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Cham / Nuoc Mam), I personally like to use fresh lime juice because of the additional flavor fresh limes give it. However, most Vietnamese dipping sauces made at restaurants usually use white vinegar or rice vinegar, mostly because it’s a lot cheaper to produce. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using vinegar! From time to time I will also use vinegar when I am out of limes at home as well.
SOAK THE GARLIC IN LIME JUICE TO REDUCE THE GARLICKY SPICY BITE
I learned this neat trick through Serious Eats – How to Tame Garlic’s Pungent Flavor. Ah, the beauty of food science! 🙂
This is a completely optional step. If you don’t mind the spiciness and sharp bite from raw garlic then there’s no need to soak the garlic in the lime juice beforehand 🙂
How long you can store this is highly dependent on whether you use vinegar in the sauce. If you are using only fresh lime juice, then I would not keep this for more than a week or two, but is best enjoyed fresh. If there is vinegar in it, you can keep it for about 2 months. Make sure you store it in an airtight jar in the fridge.
DIFFERENT WAYS TO USE NUOC CHAM / NUOC MAM
I like to use this stuff a lot, especially in the summertime so I like to double or triple the batch when I make it. Here are a few things you can serve this with if you have any extra dipping sauce!
DID YOU MAKE THIS VIETNAMESE FISH SAUCE DIPPING SAUCE (NUOC CHAM / NUOC MAM)?
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All calories and info are based on a third party calculator and are only an estimate. Actual nutritional info will vary with brands used, your measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
The Best Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)
Making Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)
Today, I will be showing you guys how my family makes this Vietnamese dipping sauce. If I had to describe our family’s recipe in comparison to others it would be a sweeter sauce with a bit of tang. This is because my parents come from the southern part of Vietnam, where they generally like increase the sugar and lime ratio. Hope you guys find this post interesting and helpful!
Any Brand of Fish Sauce Can Work!
Now I have seen crazy arguments online about which brand is best for cooking, dipping and everything else in between. My stance is that whatever brand you use, you can make it work!
Because lets be honest, people buy different brands of fish sauce for a variety of reasons. Most of the time it is the one that their parents used as they were growing up. Sometimes it’s the taste or the sale price. The one thing I am certain of is that it is definitely not worth arguing over.
In my experience, the more expensive bottles of fish sauce have a deeper and richer flavour with a longer length of taste. For these reasons I like to use them for recipes where the fish sauce is the star ingredient. This is because you will be able to taste the fish sauce in its entirety, getting the most value for your money.
When you start mixing a lot of stuff in, the delicate notes and flavours of the fish sauce become lost. This is why I generally use cheaper fish sauce for cooking.
So can you make a good Vietnamese dipping sauce from cheap fish sauce? YES! My mum used cheap fish all her life and I love her nuoc mam cham.
In my opinion, the secret to making a great tasting sauce comes down to being able to tinker it to your preferences. Because if it tastes good to you, what else matters?
The fish sauces I generally use if you are interested:
Squid ($3 – $5 AUD) – This cheap fish sauce is great for cooking and staying on a budget. My mum uses it for everything and I love MOST of her food!
3 Crabs and Megachef Gold ($6 – $10 AUD) – These mid range fish sauces are fantastic for cooking and dipping. Basically your all purpose fish sauce.
Red Boat ($15 + AUD) – This is easily the most expensive fish sauce I have ever used. The flavour is superior to any other brand when tasted on its own. Great for anything that requires fish sauce but may be a bit too expensive for everyday use.
Adjusting Your Vietnamese Dipping Sauce to Your Taste
I’m giving you my general recipe today, which is sometimes on the money and other times needs to be adjusted. This will always be the case because the strength and taste of each ingredient is always going to be slightly different, for example depending on freshness, ripeness and variety. So, while it’s helpful to have a good basic recipe, the more important thing is to learn how to adjust it to suit your preferences.
If your nuoc mam cham:
Is not salty enough, lacks body or it’s otherwise bland, then add more fish sauce.
Has too much of a strong fish sauce aftertaste, then add more sugar, lime and water to round it out.
Does not have enough tang, then add more lime juice.
Has too much tang then add more sugar.
Needs a little more sourness without using lime or lemon then add a little white vinegar.
Tastes too strong, then add a little water too dilute the flavours.
Tastes pretty close but not quite there, give the sauce time to develop. You will notice that once the garlic has been infused the flavour of your sauce will dramatically improve getting you over the last hurdle.
All these steps should be done in SMALL increments (usually 1/2 tsp) then taste tested straight after. Never do too much at one time.
What to Add to Your Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
Here are a few things I add to my sauce to elevate the flavour:
Whole flattened garlic – If you don’t like having raw pieces of garlic in your food then leave it whole. Simply flatten the clove of garlic with a knife and drop it in your sauce.
Finely chopped garlic – This is the most popular way of adding garlic to your sauce. It is also the fastest way for the garlic to infuse with the sauce.
Chopped chillies – For anyone who loves spice, adding chopped birds eye or Thai chillies is a must.
Lime pulp – This will add pops of sourness which will make your sauce much more interesting. To effectively get lime pulp use a juicer like the one below.
Pickled carrots – You will see this done at restaurants to add texture to the sauce and make it look better. I don’t bother because I am lazy.
Using Soft Drink (Soda)
There are people out there who swear by using soft drinks (soda) as a substitute for the water and sugar in their nuoc mam cham. The ones I have seen are:
I’ve tried a few recipes online and have experimented with Sprite, 7Up, and lemonade. None of the recipes I tried turned out well, they all required a lot of tinkering. Coconut soda seemed to be the most popular substitute but I could not for the life of me find it in Canberra.
I’m not sold on soft drink being any better, especially when it’s replacing water and sugar which are usually more readily available. Potentially I’d change my mind if I tried coconut soda but for now I’m happy to stick with the more traditional method.
Give the Sauce Time to Develop
Most of the Vietnamese dipping sauce recipes you see online will tell you to serve it up straight away. Honestly, in my experience, the sauce begins to taste better the day after you make it. Why? Because you give the garlic time to infuse and for the flavours to develop. Of course you can always serve it up just after making it but you will notice the fish sauce will have a slightly sharp taste to it. Give it a day and the other ingredients will slowly round it out leaving you with a beautiful tasting Vietnamese dipping sauce.
What to Serve Nuoc Mam with?
If you guys do make this recipe, please tag us at #scruffandsteph on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. We would love to see your creations!
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Scruff and Steph
Scruff
Recipe: Vietnamese Fish Sauce For Dipping
When I’m feeling fancy, I like to call this “fish sauce vinaigrette” or even “anchovy vinaigrette.” Essentially, it’s the vital finishing touch on scores of Vietnamese dishes. It can be used as a dipping sauce, a condiment, or a dressing. If you know how to make this one recipe, you’ll have the key to unlock an arsenal of Vietnamese dishes.
The Vietnamese name for this sauce is nuoc mam cham—“nuoc mam” referring to the fish sauce and “cham” meaning “to dip.” I’m showing you this recipe as a prelude to the rice vermicelli bowl I’ll talk about next time, as my answer to the one I had at Bun Thit Nuong Chi Thong in Saigon.
I’ve even used similar versions to give a western salad a southeast Asian flair.
It’s super simple to make, especially if you throw everything into a Magic Bullet the way I do. Store it in an airtight container in your fridge, and it should stay good for a couple of weeks. Be forewarned, though: this stuff is sticky and, while it’s awesome on your food, it’s terrible on your clothes, so be careful!
Notes: My Aunt Carol taught me the 4:3:2:1 ratio, a good rule of thumb to remember when making nuoc mam cham: 4 parts water to 3 parts sugar to 2 parts fish sauce to 1 part acid like lime juice or vinegar.
Ingredients
2 cloves garlic
2 bird’s eye chile peppers or to taste (these are the tiny red peppers usually found in Thai or Vietnamese cooking—they can be super hot, so if you prefer your sauce milder, discard the seeds or omit the peppers all together)
2 limes, juiced (approx 1/4 c)
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 c fish sauce
1 c water
Instructions
Make sauce in a blender: In a small blender like the Magic Bullet, combine the garlic, peppers, lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, and water; blend until incorporated.
Make sauce the [slightly more] laborious way: In a mortar & pestle, crush the garlic and peppers (or just mince them). In a mason jar, combine garlic, peppers, and lime juice. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, fish sauce, and water untildissolved. Pour into jar, cover, and shake to combine.
Let stand 30m for flavors to combine. Store chilled in airtight container for up to 2 wks, but I dare you not to eat it with everything.
Active time: 10m Total time: 40m Yields: 1 pint
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