NUOC CHAM - Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
This classic Vietnamese dipping sauce, Nuoc Cham, is the perfect balance of sweet, tangy, salty, and spicy! Made with fish sauce, fresh lime, garlic, and a little fiery Thai chili, it's the delicious dipping sauce served with spring rolls in Vietnamese restaurants. Quick to make and easy to adjust to your taste, it's also wonderful with noodle bowls, grilled meats, and other Asian-inspired favorites.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- ½ cup warm water
- 1 small garlic clove finely minced
- ½ –1 Thai chili pepper fresh or frozen
Instructions
- Stir the sugar into the warm water until completely dissolved. Add the fish sauce, fresh lime juice, and minced garlic, stirring to combine.
- Now for a little heat! I use kitchen scissors to snip tiny pieces of Thai chili directly into the sauce. This works beautifully with fresh or frozen peppers and makes it easy to control how much heat you're adding. No chopping required!
- For a little extra color, add a pinch of finely grated carrot. It's a pretty addition, especially when serving the sauce with spring rolls.
- Give everything a good stir, then taste and adjust the balance of sweet, salty, sour, and spicy to your liking. Let the sauce sit for 10–15 minutes so the flavors can mingle.
- A little tip from our kitchen: Thai chilies may be tiny, but they pack a mighty punch! Start with just a few snips. You can always turn up the heat! ??