Nuoc Cham is a sauce that can be found every home in Vietnam. It is the general name given to any sauce that uses the combination of fish sauce, lime, chilli and garlic. It is a flavoursome sauce that can be served with any number of hot and cold dishes.
In Vietnam a chef's reputation can ride on the quality of their Nuoc Cham. That being said, it is still an easy sauce to put together and the real skill lies in balancing the flavours well.
All of the ingredients are easily found in a greengrocer, supermarket or Asian specialty food stores.
Equipment Needed
- A chopping board
- A small, sharp knife
- A mortar & pestle
- A small bowl or large ramekin
Ingredients
- 2-3 large cloves of garlic
- 3 small red ‘finger’ chillies
- 2 tsp of sugar
- 120ml (½ cup) of Nuoc Mam (fish sauce)
- 3 tsp of water
- Juice of ½ a lime
Preparation
- Use a small knife to dice all of the chillies - seeds can be left in for additional heat (this is recommended as the flavour of sauce rests upon all of the ingredients working together to create balance).
- Place the diced chillies into a mortar and pestle along with the garlic, and grind them to a paste.
- Heat the sugar with the water (on the stove, or in the microwave) and stir until the sugar dissolves.
- Add the chilli and garlic paste into the sugar/water mixture along with the lime juice and fish sauce and mix well.
Notes & Tips
- Refrigerating this sauce for a few days (even up to 30) allows for the ingredients to
- mix even more, creating an even more refreshing and flavour-filled condiment.
- Generally, the longer it sits the spicier it will get.
- Viet Huong ‘Three Crabs’ brand Fish Sauce has been touted as the most authentic and best-tasting brand of Fish Sauce to use in the making of Nuoc Cham and can be purchased from Asian supermarkets or online.
Foods to Serve it With
- Spring Rolls
- Rice Paper Rolls
- Fried or Steamed Dumplings
- Use it as a salad dressing
Variations
There are many variations of this dipping sauce, and as such, each will provide its own unique taste. Some other ingredients to add to the mix could include:
- Rice wine vinegar
- Shredded carrot
- Chopped ginger
- Lemon juice (as well as or instead of lime)
- Lemongrass
- Chopped coriander
The amount of each ingredient utilised can also be changed to suit personal preference, e.g. remove some sugar and add more chillies to create a hotter, less sweet variation.
 |
 |
