, or more specifically nước mắm chấm (), is a common name for a variety of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese dipping

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi- solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

s that are often served as

condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to enhance the Flavoring, flavour, to complement the dish or to impart a specific flavor. Such specific flavors generally add sweetness or pungency, or sharp or piquant ...

s. It is commonly a sweet, sour, salty, savoury and/or spicy sauce.

(mixed fish sauce) is the most well known dipping sauce made from

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...

. Its simplest recipe is some lime juice, or occasionally vinegar, one part

(), one part sugar and two parts water. Vegetarians create (vegetarian dipping sauce) or (soy sauce) by substituting Maggi seasoning sauce or

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

for

(). To this, people will usually add minced uncooked garlic, chopped or minced bird's eye chilis, and in some instances, shredded pickled carrot or white radish and green papaya for . Otherwise, when having seafood, such as eels, people also serve some slices of lemongrass. It is often prepared hot on a stove to dissolve the sugar more quickly, then cooled. The flavor can be varied depending on the individual's preference, but it is generally described as pungent and distinct, sweet yet sour, and sometimes spicy.

Varieties by region

People in the north of Vietnam tend to use , as cooked by using the above recipes, but add broth made from pork loin and penaeid shrimp (). In the central section of the country, people like using a less dilute form of that has the same proportions of fish sauce, lime, and sugar as the recipe above, but less water, and with fresh chili. Southern Vietnamese people often use palm sugar and coconut water as the sweetener.

Uses

is typically served with: * , a cracked-rice dish with meat, poultry, eggs, seafood or vegetables. The toppings are often fried, grilled, braised, steamed/boiled, or stir-fried. * , spring rolls * , which are sometimes called shrimp salad rolls or "rice paper" rolls, or as spring rolls (Alternately, are served with a peanut sauce containing hoisin sauce and sometimes chili, or made from , a Vietnamese fermented bean paste/soy sauce.) * or "rice rolls", where wide sheets of rice noodles rolled up, and topped (or stuffed) with stir-fried or braised meat or seafood, with soy sauce or fish sauce * , a pan-fried crêpe made from rice flour and coconut milk, and filled with pork, shrimp, onion and bean sprouts, and topped with herbs * , very thin vermicelli layered into sheets, and separated by thin layers of ( scallions in oil) * , rice noodles with meat, poultry, eggs, seafood or vegetables. The toppings are often fried, grilled, braised, steamed/boiled, or stir-fried.

References

Vietnam—Nuoc Cham recipe (Chili, Garlic, and Fish Sauce)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuoc Cham Vietnamese cuisine Sauces

Varieties by region

Uses

See also

References