Vietnamese Fish Sauce Recipe (nuoc cham aka dipping sauce)

Is there something that’s extra of an umami bomb than fish sauce? A number of drops of this magic stuff right into a dish can take it from from nice to spectacular. It’s an incredible secret ingredient to have in your arsenal.

That is the final word information to fish sauce for anybody who’s curious or excited about including it to your culinary toolkit. On this put up, you’ll be taught what it’s, what manufacturers to purchase, how you can use it, and most significantly, how you can make ready fish sauce for dipping or dressing on the desk.

My household’s fish sauce roots run deep. We’re from a countryside village by the ocean. A number of occasions a yr, boats would come to the docks with the assorted in-season seafood for the villagers to make fish sauce with. Each family would have their very own barrels of fish sauce. The wealthy household within the village made their cash promoting industrial portions of the stuff, made in giant open air concrete swimming pools. My mother was well-known within the village for her ready fish sauce which she offered with bowls of noodles and recent grilled cobs of corn.

Nuoc mam vs nuoc cham

Generally on restaurant menus you’ll see a reference to nước chấm. Nuoc cham in Vietnamese simply means dipping sauce, however what it actually means is ready-to-eat/desk/ready, aka fish sauce made right into a able to eat sauce (ie, for dipping) with garlic, lime, and chilies. Only a few folks would use the uncooked unadulterated sauce out of the bottle for something aside from cooking.

In my household and in our a part of Vietnam, we don’t say nuoc cham. We simply say nuoc mam and also you’re anticipated to know which sort is supposed primarily based on context. At greatest, it will be known as nước mắm chấm, which implies dipping fish sauce. If you’re cooking, you utilize it proper out of the bottle, however on the desk, it’s all the time ready.

Ready fish sauce is the stuff of desires, and virtually all the time a jealously guarded household secret. Each Vietnamese household claims their recipe is the most effective, or that their household makes it the most effective. Vietnamese children who’ve grown up in America and might’t prepare dinner in addition to their mothers joke about all the time having 2 jars of their fridge. When one goes empty, it’s time to name mother up for an additional jar.

Ready fish sauce recipe

When Vietnamese folks say their mother’s fish sauce is the most effective, they imply the ready stuff. Heck, when Vietnamese folks say they dream of fish sauce, additionally they imply the ready stuff. Not many Vietnamese folks would share this recipe (or may, since most don’t measure or write recipes).

It is a model I discovered way back from my mother and tweaked via the years by me, and better of all, written down.

make ready fish sauce

Crush sugar, garlic, and Thai chilies in a mortar and pestle.
Switch to a jar, then add lime, fish sauce, and water.
Let mellow within the fridge for a minimum of half-hour earlier than having fun with.

A fair higher (and cheaper) model

It’s 2025 and limes are ridiculously priced and never that nice. I’ve began making and serving our ginger fish sauce which is historically eaten with poultry, however on a regular basis. And it’s been successful. I’ll replace the recipe beneath however mainly, it’s sub lime for ginger and add a little bit extra sugar and garlic to offset the punch of ginger. In any other case each step is similar. I’ve cherished it with every little thing you’d historically eat with nuoc cham, corresponding to spring rolls, salad rolls, rice plates, and so on.

What’s fish sauce

Fish sauce, generally known as nước mắm, is a sauce created from fermenting seafood in salt that’s related to Southeast Asia, particularly Vietnam and Thailand. Typically it’s created from anchovies, however it’s additionally created from tiny shrimp, tuna stomach, and extra. You may make fish sauce from any seafood. You’ll be able to even make fish sauce at residence by packing 3 elements recent anchovies to 1 half salt in a big jar and leaving it for a yr or so.

What model of fish sauce to purchase

In fact, nobody goes to make their very own at residence. There are lots of manufacturers of fish sauce on the market, and extra on a regular basis, so it could get complicated as to which one to decide on.

One of the simplest ways to decide on is similar as olive oil. There’s one thing much like first press for fish sauce that has a superior taste over the cheaper stuff. To search out it, search for the phrases mắm nhĩ on the label. This contains the favored and well-known Crimson Boat model, however it additionally contains another nice decisions corresponding to Viet Huong, Phu Quoc, and our present bottle of the second, Megachef.

What’s mam nhi

Most Vietnamese folks know that mam nhi is to fish sauce what additional virgin is to olive oil however not everybody is aware of why. The etymology of the phrase was a tough one to trace down. There’s not even settlement on the right spelling. Esoterically, it’s both mắm nhĩ or mắm nhỉ. These are fairly small variations, even in Vietnamese, however it’s nonetheless not agreed upon.

On Vietnamese wikipedia it merely says that mam nhi means “correct sauce” however the clarification is a little bit stretched and unlikely. My dad’s idea is that nhĩ is old fashioned slang for drip or drop. Method again within the day, earlier than mass manufacturing, each household would have wood barrels like a wine barrel with a spout wherein they made the sauce. After they wanted some, they’d open the spout and let some sauce drip out, and that’s what was known as mam nhi.

Per my dad’s idea, in the event that they had been planning on promoting it, they’d pour a few of these first drippings again into the barrel and later press it to stretch the yield, which shaped the inferior “atypical” fish sauce. Mam nhi was the good things, saved for the household.

Keep away from this until

Through the years I’ve discovered that many individuals don’t know what manufacturers and types to keep away from. The type we use in most cooking is evident. Keep away from any which are opaque until what you might be entering into, together with – and particularly – any that say mắm nêm or mắm ruốc on the label. These will likely be extra pungent than the clear stuff. Used appropriately as in BBH, they’re scrumptious, however be warned, they are often harmful for the uninitiated sense of odor.

You also needs to keep away from any grocery store manufacturers, corresponding to Thai Kitchen, Asian Household, Dynasty, and so on as a result of they’re overly pungent, over salted, and missing in taste. When unsure or in a meals desert, purchase Crimson Boat. It’s the most secure, most generally obtainable choice, and it’s what we purchase once we’re removed from Asian supermarkets.

Are you able to make this with out a mortar and pestle?

When my mother must make sufficient for big events (we’re speaking gallons) she would use a meals processor or blender. She thought-about it substandard however nobody appeared to complain. I’ve made it each methods, there’s a really clear – however not enormous – distinction. The very best device for the job in the event you don’t have a mortar and pestle for my part is a garlic press.

Can you utilize lemons?

You should use any acid you need, even vinegar, however limes are greatest. All the things else doesn’t style fairly proper.

Can you utilize different peppers or simply go away them out?

Thai chilis are conventional as a result of that’s what’s in that a part of the world, however generally it’s just a bit exhausting to come back by. My favourite substitute is habaneros, that are simpler to seed in the event you don’t choose the spice, and provides the fish sauce a pleasant fruit ahead taste as nicely. If you happen to don’t like spice, you may keep away from them altogether, wherein case Vietnamese folks typically add julienned carrots for a little bit taste, sweetness, and coloration.

Variations

This easy primary fish sauce is just not the one recreation on the town. We modify it to go well with the dish. You’ll be able to add ginger for poultry. You may make a extra watered down one to taste vermicelli bun bowls. Add carrots for coloration. My mother even makes a meaty model that’s primarily gravy that Steph adores for dipping spring rolls, like a peanut free peanut sauce.

Principally, be at liberty to mess around with it to get it proper for each your style and your dish.

Vietnamese vs Thai fish sauce

In my household, there’s no actual distinction between the Vietnamese and Thai variations, they’re interchangeable to us and we use no matter now we have readily available.

Fish sauce substitutes

It might be tempting to substitute in the event you come throughout a recipe that requires fish sauce, however you shouldn’t. In the identical method you most likely wouldn’t substitute mustard in a recipe, until you’re vegan, you most likely don’t must substitute. It’s low cost and there’s numerous recipes you should utilize it with, along with simply utilizing it to spice up the umami profile of actually something from steak to ragu bolognese.