Nuoc Cham
Editor's note:The recipe and introductory text below are excerpted from Mai Pham's bookPleasures of the Vietnamese Table.Pham also shared some helpful cooking tips exclusively with Epicurious, which we've added at the bottom of the page.
This recipe originally accompaniedCrispy Spring Rolls.
Nuoc chamis a must at every Vietnamese table, no matter what is served. You can use this condiment for dipping meat, seafood and vegetables, and for drizzling on rice. When serving it with steamed meats (such as steamed chicken), I often reduce the water by half so the sauce is more concentrated.
You can often determine a family's roots just by looking at and tasting theirnuoc cham.If it's clear and dotted with chopped chilies, the cook is probably from the central or northern regions, where a simple and straightforward version is preferred. But if it's diluted with water and lime juice and sweetened with sugar, one can surmise that the cook is from the verdant south.
Although it will keep up to two weeks in the refrigerator,nuoc chamis best when freshly made. I prefer the intense flavor of the tiny Thai bird chilies, but any hot chilies will do.
Ingredients
Makes about 1 cup
Step 1
Cut the chilies into thin rings. Remove one-third of the chilies and set aside for garnish. Place the remaining chilies, garlic and sugar in a mortar, and pound into a coarse, wet paste. (If you don't have a mortar, just chop with a knife.) Transfer to a small bowl and add the water, lime juice and fish sauce. Stir well to dissolve. Add the reserved chilies and carrots. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.
Step 2
NOTE:Nuoc chamis very amenable to variations and adaptations. In Vietnam, cooks like to use various vegetables to flavor the sauce, such as thinly sliced marinated daikon and carrots, ginger, scallion oil or peanuts and even slices of kohlrabi and the core of a white cabbage. Each imparts a distinctive savoriness.
· The Thai bird chile, a short, narrow, pointed, green or red variety, is not exclusively Thai — it's also the Vietnamese hot pepper of choice. "In Vietnam, we just call them peppers," says Pham. Thai bird chiles can be found at Asian grocery stores and better supermarkets, or ordered from Asian foods supplier Uwajimaya at (800) 889-1928. If you can't find them, Pham suggests substituting fresh red serrano chiles, which are hotter and sweeter than their green counterparts.
· Fish sauce (nuoc mam), a pungent, salty liquid made from fermented anchovies, adds depth and flavor to numerous Vietnamese dishes. For best results, choose bottles priced at $3 to $4 rather than $1, and pass on jars that are dark, which indicates oxidation or the presence of additives. "Look for fish sauce in glass jars. Avoid plastic," says Pham. "The fish sauce should have a nice, even color, like iced tea." She suggests Three Crabs, Lobster Boy, and Phu Quoc brands. When cooking with fish sauce, always add it to other liquids: Never place it directly in a hot, dry pan, which would broadcast its pungent, fishy odor throughout your kitchen in a less-than-pleasant way. Soy sauce is an acceptable vegetarian substitute, though it does lack fish sauce's smoky complexity. • Pham recommends using a mortar and pestle, rather than a knife, to mash the aromatic ingredients. This will help release their essential oils, giving the dish a fuller, "sparkling" flavor.
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Reviews (10)
Back to Top@the Cook from KL, Malaysia: You must not be Vietnamese. I am, and the Vietnamese dipping sauce is NEVER made with vinegar. Lime or lemon only.
Thymekeeper
San Francisco, CA
3/18/2013
Perfection to go with the Crispy Spring Rolls. I was skeptical looking at the ingredients (what - no soy sauce?) but was delighted with the result. Mmmmmm. I used hot sauce instead of chilies because I didn't have them. Instead of a mortar and pestle, I used a garlic press for the garlic. Loved the garlic bits floating on the sauce that garlic lovers could spoon right into their egg roll. We saved the leftover even though the egg rolls were gone. We'll find another use - it's too good to waste!
Anonymous
san ignacio, belize
3/1/2013
WARNING! This recipe does not even resemble nuoc cham(vietnames dipping sauce). The sauce looks bad, smells bad, and tastes bad. I made this as my first attempt at nuoc cham and only later did I find out that the ingredients are all out of proportion. I ended up throwing this out. You have been warned.
Huskalator
3/25/2012
我目前住在河内,想让dipping sauce at home like the one I have down the street. This is good but as other Viet Namese have said, use lime juice. While Viet Namese restuarants may use vinegar in the US and this is what you are used to, maybe because the quality of the limes just isn't the same. In Ha Noi vinegar is used when limes aren't as plentiful and I think , based on taste buds, it's sometimes a combination of the two.
deread
Ha Noi
4/30/2010
This is tasty but the garlic should be crushed very fine, not sliced. This way you don't bite into a chunk of garlic. The brand of fish sauce you use determines how much you use. Some brands have more sodium, thus making it more salty. Start with 3 tbsp, then adjust according to taste. I tend to like lime, better than vinegar because vinegar gives it a different smell and taste, not a fresh citrus smell like lime. I use lime when the sauce is used as a dipping sauce and vinegar for dressing, like for banh cuon or rice noodles. I also use the chili garlic sauce sometimes, but the fresh chilies will give it a fresher taste & smell.
zimilak
4/2/2010
This version is a little bit more pungent than my mom's (she's from Vietnam), but it's very authentic and tastes great. As for the acidic element, I think most Vietnamese people just use whatever acid they happen to have in stock. It's like asking a French person how to make authentic bouillabaisse - 100 people will come up with 100 different recipes and ingredients. Lime, lemon, and vinegar all will produce slightly different results, but nonetheless tasty and authentic.
Anonymous
Wellington, NZ
10/9/2009
I'm a huge fan of Mai Pham and have two of her books. This is NOT the recipe for dipping sauce that appears in the book cited - the proportions are off. As published, it is: 2 small cloves garlic sliced; 1 tsp ground chili paste; 1 choppeed Thai bird chili; 1/4 cup fish sauce; 2/3 cup hot water; 2 tbsp lime juice with pulp; 1/4 cup sugar; 2 tbsp shredded carrots. This is how I've made it, and it is authentic. One should also use light brown sugar or palm sugar - not the white stuff.
Anonymous
Hanover, MA
8/3/2005
The fish sauce ratio is too high here. You need to back it off to 4 Tbps, and then I would only make half of what you see here (so 2 Tbsp fish sauce total...) since this recipe makes way more than the average American household would need.
fintzu
7/21/2005
I disagree with piggysuz. This recipe is similar to what my Vietnamese mother uses. The lime juice gives it a more mellow, less sour flavor than vinegar. I tried making this sauce with vinegar and wondered why it did not taste the same until I asked my mother, and she said to use lime juice instead. Most Vietnamese women in my church have said that they also use lime juice instead of vinegar for the Vietnamese dipping sauce.
rosyming
Cincinnati, OH
7/14/2005
I'm sorry but being a huge fan of Vietnamese food I believe that authentic Vietnamese dipping sauce is made with white vinegar and not lime juice. If you use lime juice, the sauce will not taste the same as the ones you get at your favorite Vietnamese restaurant
piggysuz
KL, Malaysia
7/14/2005
