Nuoc mam cham is the traditional Vietnamese dipping sauce for rice paper rolls, spring rolls, anything really. It also makes a delicious dressing for salads, noodles, grilled fish and chicken to name a few. This recipe makes a lot but it keeps really well in the fridge and before you know it you’ll be spooning it over everything. Recipe is based on one from Confidence in the Kitchen by Emmylou MacCarthy.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup caster sugar, dissolved in 1/2 cup water
- 2 long red chillies, roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- Sea salt
- 1/2 cup fish sauce
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 40ml white vinegar
Directions
In a large jar dissolve the sugar in the water. Pound your roughly chopped garlic and chillies in a mortar and pestle with a large pinch of salt, until you have a paste.
Transfer the paste to the jar. Add the fish sauce (1/2 cup), lemon juice (1/4 cup) and vinegar (40ml), give it a good stir or shake.
Store sealed in the fridge until needed.
Need a quick salad in a hurry, grab a bag of ready chopped coleslaw from the supermarket, dress with the nuoc mam cham and you are done. It’s not only quick but healthy and best of all delicious. Enjoy. Sheryl x
