5-Minute Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce)

Nuoc cham is the quintessential Vietnamese dipping sauce. It is used in a variety of Vietnamese dishes in many applications. Every family has their own variation of this sauce, and this is my family’s recipe! Included in this recipe are instructions on how to make different variations of this sauce and substitutions for ingredients.

If there is 1 thing that I use on a day-to-day basis when making Vietnamese dishes is fish sauce. Fish sauce is a smelly but tasty seasoning that Vietnamese people use in everything. (As a side note, it seems like most Vietnamese ingredients have a common theme: smelly but tasty lol) I remember watching a TV show once with Gordon Ramsey, and he said to a chef, “I’m surprised you’re putting fish sauce in that ground pork.” And the chef said, “If you don’t put fish sauce, then it’s not Vietnamese.” lol One of the most common uses of fish sauce is in Nuoc Cham (pronounced like nook-mam) or better known as Vietnamese dipping sauce.

My connection to nuoc cham

Of all the authentic Vietnamese dips and sauces out there, nuoc cham is probably the most common. It is a sauce that is used for dipping in dishes like cha gio and as a vinaigrette in vermicelli bowls or salads like bun thit nuong. The recipe does not change whether you’re using it for one or the other. As a kid, I would use it for flavoring a lot of different things. Sometimes my mom would just cut up fresh vegetables for me and I would dip them in nuoc cham for some extra flavor. It was one way she tried to get me to eat veggies. Because of its varied uses, we would always have a jar of this stuff in our fridge.

Even with its complex flavor, the sauce is made with a few simple ingredients you can find in any grocery store. Lime juice, garlic, sugar, water, fish sauce, and red garlic sauce. Mix all these together and pour into a jar for safe keeping. The sauce can keep up to a month. Two of my most recent recipes that use nuoc cham – nem nuong spring rolls and banh beo.

What is the difference between nuoc mam and nuoc cham?

I get asked this question a lot. So to set the record straight – there is no difference between them. They are 2 different names for the same sauce. Nuoc cham translates to “dipping sauce” while nuoc mam pha translates to “mixed fish sauce”.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce Variations

Everyone has their own version of this recipe. My aunt Huong (aka Hollywood) has a yummy version of this recipe using white vinegar instead of lime juice. Using white vinegar is common in Vietnamese restaurants because it’s cheaper and easier to make. To make this variation, substitute 1 tablespoon of white vinegar for the lime juice and 1 Thai chili for the red garlic sauce. You can use regular white vinegar or rice wine vinegar.

What kind of fish sauce should you use to make nuoc cham?

I typically use Three Crabs Fish Sauce for my nuoc cham. It is the one I grew up having, and it has amazing flavor. Another fish sauce brand I like is Red Boat Fish Sauce.

What can I eat with nuoc cham?

This sauce is a cornerstone of Vietnamese cuisine and can be found in a lot of Vietnamese dishes. It is used as a dipping sauce for Vietnamese spring rolls and com tam, a dressing for vermicelli bowls like bun cha gio, and even Vietnamese salads like goi ga. And Vietnamese families in general use it as an all purpose dipping sauce. For example, I typically use it as a dip for raw vegetables.

Did you make this Vietnamese Dipping Sauce?

If you made this Vietnamese staple, I would love to see!

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