Vietnamese Fish Dipping Sauce- “Nuoc Mam Cham”, Dad’s recipe + Video

Nuoc Mam Cham, simply translated equates to fermented fish dipping sauce. This traditional fish sauce is a bright/citrusy/and semi-sweet and fishy dipping sauce is widely used in many Vietnamese dishes. This subtly fishy dipping sauce is made from a blend of fermented fish sauce, water, sugar, and citrus.

Below is my dad’s recipe which is a more indicative of North Vietnam (a little more bold, savory) than my mom’s.

If you like it more mild, and slightly sweeter, check out my mom’s recipe -here-.

INGREDIENTS

• 4-5 garlic cloves (peeled and minced)

• 2-4 thai chili peppers (chopped finely, 2 chili’s for mild/medium spice, 4-5 for spicy/more heat) or use 1/2 long red chili pepper (remove seeds for less heat)

• Juice of 2 limes

• 1/4 cup white sugar

• 1/2 cup fish sauce (Use Redboat fish sauce or the Vietnamese 3 crab brand)

• 1/2 cup warm water

PREPARATION

1. Peel chop/mince garlic and then mince thai chili peppers (remove some of the seeds if you want to reduce the heat/hot factor).

2. Mix garlic, peppers, water, fish sauce and sugar til dissolved.

3. Add lime juice. Dilute with another 1/4 cup if needed but you don’t dilute too much, it should be a little salty, savory and strong.