The MUST-HAVE Vietnamese Dipping Sauce: Nước Chấm

This dipping sauce is the holy grail of Vietnamese cooking. It is the basis of many dishes and also compliments numerous others as well. Every single Vietnamese restaurant you step into will have this sauce and their version of it.

If you don’t know, Nước Chấm is a sweet, spicy, and tart fish sauce mixture that goes on many Vietnamese dishes, if not on the side. what I love about this recipe is that it is very forgiving. So you can taste it and tweak it however you like. For example I like it sweeter and more tart. But some people might like it more salty. You can just taste it as you go and if it gets too much you can always water it down.

The store as well in the fridge for about a week in an airtight container and is so easy to make!

I love adding carrots because it has a slight sweetness but mostly makes it look beautiful! I love eating this with eggrolls, spring rolls, noodle bowls, you name it! It goes well with almost any type of protein!

As always the recipes below, until next time!

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce: Nước Chấm

Recipe by Jen H. DaoCourse: SidesCuisine: Vietnamese, AsianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

7-8

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

5

minutes

Ingredients

• 1-2 Birdseye chilies (chopped finely)

• 1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

• 1 c water

• 1/4 c fish sauce

• 1/4 c sugar

• 1/2 lime (juice)

• 1/3 c shredded carrots

Directions

• Combine chilies, garlic, sugar, water & fish sauce in an airtight container
• Taste it and add more sweet/salt/citrus to your liking
• Add shredded carrots
• Store in the refrigerator

Recipe Video