Some might wonder if nuoc mam (fish sauce) runs in the veins of Vietnamese people. Indeed it is almost synonymous with Vietnamese cuisine and is used as a flavoring agent, dipping sauce, and dressing for countless dishes. The basic components of dipping sauce are fish sauce, lime juice, water, crushed garlic, and chiles. There are numerous variations on the quantities as well as additions (such as ginger) but ultimately, it depends on your personal preference so feel free to experiment.
Good idea to store nuoc mam in a 2 lt bottle? Find out below..
Nuoc Mam Cham (Dipping Fish Sauce)
Printable Recipe
- 1/2 cup of water
- 1 tablespoon rice or plain vinegar (optional)
- 2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 hot chile pepper or Jalapeno (at least)
- 3 clove of garlic, use more or less according to taste
- ~1/8 cup fish sauce, adjust to taste
- pickled carrots and daikon, optional.
- Rooster brand chile garlic sauce (optional)
Coming from Vietnam, everything was valuable. Our parents didn't want to part with anything and 2-L bottles were commonly used in our family to store large quantities of nuoc mam. One day, my cousin came home after a long day of grueling football practice looking for some ice cold soda to quench his thirst... he grabbed the first soda bottle in the fridge he saw and took a huge gulp, and immediately his eyes bulged, his mouth puckered, and out flew the nuoc mam with a scream of utter shock....you would think that my parents would be sympathetic, but no--he was strictly admonished for wasting a good bottle of nuoc man....
That's hilarious that your cousin accidentally drank fish sauce!
ReplyDeleteI did a post on nuoc mam awhile back too... it's my mom's recipe which she taught me. She also uses chili paste to give it the reddish color... here's the link http://thefoodaddicts.com/?p=174.
ReplyDeletebtw, i'll be trying your nem nuong recipe soon! can't wait!!!
I think one of my cousin drank fish sauce by accident, too. :P And oh yes, nuoc cham is so wonderful. Do you know that the Hanoian varies the flavours of nuoc cham a bit for different dishes? :)
ReplyDeleteMy 7-year-old daughter, who loves fish and soy sauce, took a dare from my brother to drink a tablespoon of fish sauce straight up. She did, and won $1. But two minutes later I hustled her into the bathroom where she had her first grown-up (into the toilet) vomit!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you for all the wonderful recipes including the still-beloved fish sauce! We visited Vietnam a few months ago and I came home craving the food even more than before.
ReplyDeleteHummingbird Appetite: It's happens more commonly than you think!
ReplyDeleteFood addicts: Yup! Chili paste definitely gives it more color. We pretty much use whatever chili we have on hand.
Anh: We love all the variations of nuoc mam...esp nuoc mam gung (ginger)...can't get enough of that eating bun mang vit!
Lauren: thank you for sharing that story...i'm sure she'll be able to tell that story to her friends for years to come. We're glad you like our recipes. Please let us know if you make something--take a picture and we'll post it. We'll keep on cooking if you keep on commenting :)
holy smokes!!! Look at the swirling Nuoc Mam, GREAT picture! Starred at it for so long I got dizzy.
ReplyDeletehoustonwok: Glad someone noticed the hypnotizing artistry on that shot! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis sauce is awesome but my question is how long and where to store the 2L bottle.
ReplyDeleteanonymous: you should store nuoc mam in the fridgerator and it lasts pretty much indefinitely :)
ReplyDeleteI remember always pounding the garlic and pepper and sugar together in a mortar then adding lime, then water, then finally the fish sauce. All the flavors seemed to meld better that way, rather than with chopped garlic.
ReplyDeleteanonymous: every family has their way of making nuoc mam--you're absolutely right, using a morter and pestle would add more flavor.
ReplyDeleteHahahaha...Poor cousin. And your parents were right, you should never waste a bottle of nuoc mam! :D
ReplyDeleteAnd hey, not just HoustonWok, I saw the swirling of sauce, too! Very creative.
ReplyDeletewow! i'm so glad i found your blog..
ReplyDeleteit's just what i've been looking for to make some of these amazing vietnamese recipes!
it will be nice to be able to see the name with the picture. the only vietnamese i know is the name of my favorite dishes..
and, please post a recipe for banh beo... that would be amazing!
A late answer to anonymous:This sauce is awesome but my question is how long and where to store the 2L bottle.
ReplyDeleteThe life span of Nuoc mam is not so much measured in days or months, but in generations :-)
I discovered some in the pantry a couple years old. I gave it a try and it was just fine. So Nuoc mam and twinkies never expire.
This is the best asian cooiking blog ever !
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Ed: Nuoc mam is Vietnamese gold, another similarity to the color of twinkies :) Thank you so much for your kind words!
ReplyDeleteI'm thrilled to have stumbled upon your blog. I'll be making spring rolls and this dipping sauce this week for a dinner party! Thanks!
ReplyDeletekasey: thanks for visiting our blog..have a great time with all the cooking and do let us know how things turn out!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your fantastic recipes. I've been especially looking for a good recipe for thit nuong, and yours is really great.
ReplyDeleteWhat a very cool fish sauce this is. It is really different from the usual fish sauces at home.
ReplyDelete