Name: Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
Yield: Makes about 1 cup ; Serves 4
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 1 to 2 serrano peppers or Thai chiles, cut crosswise into paper-thin slivers; 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or more lime juice; ¼ teaspoon black pepper; 1 thick piece carrot (3 inches long); ½ cup warm water; ¼ cup Asian fish sauce; 3 tablespoons sugar, or more to taste; 2 cloves garlic, minced; ¼ cup lime juice, or more to taste

Preparation info

Makes about 1 cup ; Serves
4

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

How to Grill

By Steven Raichlen

Published 2001

About

Wherever Vietnamese eat barbecue, this delicate dipping sauce turns up. The complex layering of flavors—sweet, sour, salty, and hot—goes well with the rich taste of grilled pork, like the Asian Flavor Baby Back Ribs. Fish sauce is a malodorous condiment made with pickled anchovies; if you can’t find it, or don’t care for it, substitute soy sauce.