What is nuoc cham?

Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese dipping sauce that accompanies lots of dishes. It’s the perfect combination of sweet, sour, salty, savory, and spicy. It gets its sweetness from the sugar, sour from the lime juice, salty from the fish sauce, savory from the garlic, and spicy from the Thai chili or red pepper flakes. Nuoc cham is used for spring rolls, noodle dishes, crepes, and more!

How to make Nuoc Cham

For this Vietnamese dipping sauce, you’ll need

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 fresh lime, juiced
• 1 garlic clove
• red pepper flakes or Thai chili, sliced to taste

Mince garlic clove and Thai chili and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Add in fish sauce and lime juice. Then add minced garlic and minced Thai chili, or a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you would like the sauce.

This dipping sauce makes enough for 10 servings and can be kept for 2 weeks in the refrigerator!

Use nuoc cham with

• Vietnamese Crepe (Bánh Xèo)
• Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla)

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Nuoc Cham

Nuoc cham is a Vietnamese dipping sauce that accompanies lots of dishes. It’s the perfect combination of sweet, sour, salty, savory, and spicy, and is used for spring rolls, noodle dishes, crepes, and more!

Prep Time5 minutes mins

Course: Condiment

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Keyword: Nuoc cham

Servings: 10

Author: Globally Flavored

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1 fresh lime juiced
• 1 garlic clove
• Red pepper flakes or Thai chili sliced to taste

Instructions

• Mince garlic clove and Thai chili, if using. Set aside.
• In a medium bowl, combine sugar and water until the sugar is dissolved. Add in fish sauce and lime juice. Then add minced garlic and minced Thai chili, or a few sprinkles of red pepper flakes, depending on how spicy you would like the sauce.
• Put the bowl in the refrigerator to cool. It can be kept for about 2 weeks!

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