Name: Nuoc Mam Cham
Yield: Makes 200 ml
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 125 ml water or coconut juice; 1 teaspoon lemon or lime juice; 4 hot red chillies, preferably bird’s-eye, finely chopped; 2 tablespoons palm sugar or caster sugar; 2 garlic cloves, crushed; 2 tablespoons nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish sauce); 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Preparation info

Makes
200 ml

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Paul Gayler's Sauce Book

By Paul Gayler

Published 2015

About

No meal in Vietnam is considered complete without this sauce; it is used as freely as we use salt and pepper. Endless variations are found across Asia, Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. As with all Asian-style dipping sauces, this is great for serving with grilled meat and fish, vegetables and crispy spring rolls.

Ingredients

125 ml water or coconut juice
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2

Method

Put the water or coconut juice in a small pan with the vinegar and sugar and bring to the boil. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Add the garlic, chillies and lemon or lime juice, then stir in the nuoc mam.