Vietnamese basic dipping sauce - Nuoc Cham

By Helen Le Published: May 1, 2011

  • Prep: 10 mins

  • Yield: 1 cup

FAQs - Frequently asked questions Question: How to keep the minced garlic and chilli afloat? Answer: Make sure you chop the chilli …

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Ingredients
Instructions
  • In a bowl, combine sugar, water, fish sauce together and stir it well. (Remember the "magic ratio" 115 which means 1 sugar: 1 fish sauce: 5 water)
  • Add lime juice.
  • For garnish, you can add some finely julienned carrots or tiny cells (juice follicle) of the lime.
  • Add garlic and chilli at last.

FAQs – Frequently asked questions

Question: How to keep the minced garlic and chilli afloat?
Answer: Make sure you chop the chilli and garlic very finely, and only add them to the sauce when all other ingredients are well-combined as well as the sugar is completely dissolved.

Question: why my dipping sauce still doesn’t taste right?
Answer: Although many of my Youtube viewers agree that 115 is a rather good ratio for almost brands of fish sauce, it may not suit the brand you use. Not mentioning that people have different taste buds. To work out the best ratio for your dipping sauce, try making s bowl of well-ballanced limade from the lime juice, water and sugar. Then gradually add in fish your to your taste. By breaking up the process into 2 sections like that, it is easier to adjust the amount without getting confused about which ingredients the sauce is lacking of.

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