Nuoc Cham Recipe (Vietnamese Fish Sauce)

Your meal prep just got exciting! – Make a batch of this Nuoc Cham recipe & you’ve got the perfect sauce for salads, noodles, and grilled meats all week long! Transform even the simplest meal by drizzling on this sweet, salty, and tangy liquid gold, and suddenly even your leftovers littttt.

🥘 Ingredient Tips

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

Squid brand fish sauce has ALWAYS been my favorite & what my mom always used when I was growing up because it’s made of 3 simple ingredients- water, anchovies, and salt. No mystery ingredients or preservatives! 

Acid

Acid is key to adding a brightness and tanginess to your homemade fish sauce that balances its saltiness and the sweetness from the sugar. Traditionally, fresh lime juice is used in nuoc cham, however, they aren’t always available or juicy year ‘round. 

To create a consistent flavor, my favorite way to add acid is using white vinegar (plus it’s a lot less work than juicing lol)! It’s a pantry staple, so you probably already have it & can easily make nuoc cham year!

If you prefer to use fresh limes or lemons, get the most out of them by rolling them back and forth on the counter to get the juices flowing. If you don’t have a lemon juicer, you can still juice them easily! Slice along the sides of the core (like cutting an apple). The slices are muchhhh easier to squeeze without the core & you can use a fork to squash as much pulp as possible!

Do NOT sub with bottled lime or lemon juice! The flavors are not the same as the fresh fruits and using white vinegar is a much better option!

Sugar

For this nuoc cham recipe, I’m using white sugar. The key is to dissolve it in warm water - not cold water, which will take foreverrr to dissolve. If the sugar doesn’t dissolve fully, your sauce won’t be evenly sweet and will just have crunchy bits in the bottom of your container - sadness.

Garlic & Chilies

Aromatics make a huge difference in nuoc cham! Save time peeling and mincing by tossing whole garlic in a mortar and pestle. Give them a few quick smashes to easily separate the garlic from the peel, remove the peels, then continue to pound the garlic with the chilies until they’re broken down into coarse bits.

🔪 What can I eat with Nuoc Cham?

This Vietnamese fish sauce recipe, aka Nuoc cham sauce or nuoc mam cham, is a classic condiment in Vietnamese cuisine used for dipping, drizzling, and dunking. 

Dip (or dunk) Shrimp Spring Rolls or fresh veggies as a healthy snack. Drizzle over a Lemongrass Chicken rice plate or use it as a dressing for a refreshing Vermicelli Noodle Bowl. You can also use it as a marinade for crispy Fish Sauce Wings then reduce to make the best sticky glaze!

It’s super versatile and a great way to instantly add sweet-satly-tangy flavor to any dish for a flavor upgrade! I sometimes even drizzle it over my eggs and rice for breakfast!

💭 Recipe FAQs

🍯 Get Extraaa Saucy

Life is better when it’s saucy - that’s just a fact. Upgrade the flavor of your food with more of  your own bomb sauces! Yep, becoming a sauce boss is next level adulting.

• Homemade Chili Oil is garlicky, spicy, and subtly sweet from caramelized shallots. This super easy recipe is a flavor bomb that goes on EVERYTHING!
• Peanut sauce is perfect to dip veggies, spring rolls, meats, or even drizzle on salad and toss with noodles!
• Goma Dressing is the ONLY reason I get excited about eating salads! This rich toasted sesame dressing is creamy, full of umami, and is SO good - it tricks you into eating healthy.
• Tamarind paste comes together with only 2 ingredients to make a tangy base for mouthwatering Pad Thai or comforting Pork Sinigang!

🥗 Put Your Nuoc Cham to Use!