this dipping/pouring sauce is served in a small bowl or jar to accompany many vietnamese meals. use it with rice noodles, rice dishes, for dipping spring rolls, for dipping vegetables etc. everyone seems to have their own way of making nuoc cham, and there are also regional differences within vietnam, so i'll just provide some basic suggestions and let you decide the rest for yourself.
but first, a few words on fish sauce. whether you call it "nuoc mam," "nam pla" or "patis," it's one of the most important sauces in southeast asian cuisine, and it consists of fermented fish extract which is notoriously stinky and salty. fish sauce is normally the main ingredient in nuoc cham, but it's not hard to make a great-tasting vegetarian version.
actually, you can buy ready-made vegetarian nuoc cham, usually sold under the name "vegetarian fish sauce," "nuoc mam chay," "nuoc mam an chay" etc. depending where you live, this may be hard to find. but i know truong thinh supermarket and far east supermarket in boston sell it. i've seen at least 3 brands. none of them taste a whole lot like the real thing, but they can still be used as a pretty good nuoc cham for dipping.
if you want to make your own nuoc cham, here's my favorite recipe (experiment with quantities):
1. squeeze into a bowl:
fresh lime or lemon juice, or substitute rice vinegar
2. add until the mixture makes a good-tasting limeade/lemonade:
coconut soda or clear coconut juice (not coconut milk), or substitute water + sugar
3. add until the mixture is light brown and salty enough:
light-colored soy sauce (often sold as "tamari"), or substitute a smaller amount of dark soy sauce
4. add to your liking:
fresh chopped chili peppers
small amount of fresh chopped garlic
also, in vietnam the following ingredients are occasionally added, sometimes depending on what dish the sauce is supposed to go with:
- thinly sliced or shredded carrot
- thinly sliced or shredded daikon
- thinly sliced or shredded asian kohlrabi
- minced cilantro
- fresh diced tomato
- fresh minced ginger
- ground black pepper
it's best to make the nuoc cham fresh at every meal, though it can be stored in the fridge for a short period.
i searched online and found several other recipes for vegetarian fish sauce or nuoc cham that call for ingredients such as kelp, miso, sun-dried tomatoes, various wines, liquid from pickled vegetables, peppercorns, onions, fermented black soybeans, pineapple, fermented tofu, almond extract etc. i've found that the simpler solutions (like my recipe above) tend to work best. also, one reader suggested adding pickled capers for a "fishier" taste. i tried adding the juice from a jar of capers, and i must say it tasted very nice.
i'm always experimenting with this, and i'd appreciate any ideas or suggestions -- just email me.
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