What is Nuoc Cham Sauce?
Nuoc Cham is a versatile dipping sauce used in Vietnamese cuisine. I recreated the flavor I experienced when I traveled to Vietnam! It’s so delicious that you’ll end up eating lots of vegetables and meat with it. Whether it’s fresh spring rolls, fried spring rolls, banh xeo (Vietnamese savory pancakes), grilled meats, or bun cha, this sauce was served with almost everything I ordered.
Ingredients
Fish sauce | 1 tbsp |
Brown sugar or White sugar | 1 tsp |
Lemon juice (or lime juice) | 1 tbsp + 1 tsp |
Minced garlic | 1 tsp |
Red chili pepper | 3 slices(optional if you don’t like spicy food) |
How to Make
1⃣ Finely chop the garlic and slice the chili pepper.

2⃣ Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.

It has a strong garlic flavor because of the fresh garlic (watch out for garlic breath!).
The fish sauce gives it a nice salty balance, perfect for dipping meat or vegetables.
The lemon or lime juice adds a refreshing, tangy twist.
In Vietnam, I found that each restaurant had its own version of Nuoc Cham.




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