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Sauce recipe

Nuoc Cham

Vietnam's everyday dipping sauce. Keep a jar in the fridge and dinner is twenty minutes away, permanently.

Makes
About 350ml
Ready in (mins)
10
Keeps
1 week in the fridge
Nuoc Cham

Nuoc cham is the sauce that gets poured over rice bowls, vermicelli salads and grilled pork all across Vietnam. Fish sauce, lime, sugar and water in balance, with garlic and chilli floating in it.

The ratio matters more than the ingredients. Start at one part fish sauce, one part sugar, one part lime, four parts water, then adjust — limes vary enormously and so does fish sauce.

How to make it
  1. Dissolve the sugar in the warm water completely. Do this first — sugar will not dissolve properly once the acid goes in.
  2. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and stir.
  3. Taste. It should be salty, sour and sweet in roughly equal measure, with none of them winning. Adjust with more water if it is too strong.
  4. Add the chopped garlic and sliced chilli. They will float, which is how it should look.
  5. Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the garlic softens into it.
  6. Store in a jar in the fridge and shake before using.
The ratio
  • 4 partsWarm water
  • 1 partFish sauce
  • 1 partLime juice
  • 1 partSugar
What you need
  • 4 tbsp fish sauce
  • 4 tbsp caster sugar or grated palm sugar
  • 4 tbsp lime juice, about 2 limes
  • 150ml warm water
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 bird’s eye chillies, finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp rice vinegar, optional
What to put it on

Grilled chicken or pork over rice, vermicelli noodle salads, rice paper rolls, banh xeo, fried spring rolls, and as a dressing for a plain cabbage salad.

New to it? Read what nuoc cham actually is in the pantry glossary.