Vietnamese Dipping Fish Sauce - Nuoc Mam Cham Recipe

Making n??c m?m ch?m is like making sambal in Indonesian cuisine. There are some different measurements on making it for each person. Similar to sambal, this Vietnamese dipping fish sauce is served quite frequently as condiment.



Last June, I made a big batch of n??c m?m ch?m and based on Wandering Chopstick's recipe. In that recipe, I used canesugar vinegar which can be used< interchangeably with nypa vinegar. For you who are not familiar with these two vinegars, please check my post "Cuka Lahang and Cuka Aren - Canesugar and Nypa Sap Vinegars"



This time, I made another batch of n??c m?m ch?m based on Andrea Nguyen's recipe. I decided to follow her recipe since she used lime.



This recipe goes for Delicious Vietnamese #6, hosted by Sijeleng of Javaholic.





N??c M?m Ch?m

- Vietnamese Dipping Fish Sauce -

adapted from Andrea Nguyen



Ingredients:

3 tbsp lime juice by squeezing fresh lime (I used key limes)

2 - 3 tbsp sugar

½ cup water

2 ½ tbsp fish sauce



Optional additions:

1 or 2 bird eyes chilies, thinly sliced

1 small garlic clove, finely minced



Directions:

1. Make limeade. Combine the lime juice, sugar and water, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Taste and as yourself this question: Does this limeade taste good? Adjust the flavors to balance out the sweet and sour.



2. Finish with fish sauce. Add the fish sauce and any of the optional ingredients. Taste again and adjust the flavors to your liking, balancing out the sour, sweet, salty and spicy. Aim for a bold, forward finish -- perhaps a little stronger than what you'd normally like. This sauce is likely to be used to add final flavor to foods wrapped in lettuce or herbs, which are not salted and therefore need a little lift to heighten the overall eating experience.



Notes

Advance Preparation - This sauce may be prepared early in the day and left to sit at room temperature.



Variation - Use half lime juice and half canseugar or nypa or Japanese rice vinegar for a less assertive sauce. Some delicately flavored dishes require this.