Nuoc Cham - Vietnamese Table Sauce

[Rachel Perlow]

Nuoc Cham - Vietnamese Table Sauce

This is a very strong sauce. You could probably cut it with up to another cup of water and it would still be quite flavorful. But try it at this level first. Use it as a dipping sauce for Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls or fresh Summer Rolls.

Also, you can mince a fresh garlic clove and a small chile in place of the garlic-chile paste, but I have it in my fridge so that's what I use. And, if you are making Vietnamese Pickled Vegetable Salad, just mince a handful of that instead of shredding the carrots & daikon.

Adapted from a recipe in Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid.

• 1/4 c Lime juice, freshly squeezed
  
• 1/4 c Fish sauce (nuoc mam)
  
• 1/4 c Water
  
• 1 T Rice Vinegar
  
• 1/2 tsp Garlic-Chile paste
  
• 1 T Carrot and Daikon radish, shredded
  
• 1 T Sugar
  

Mix all the ingredients and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Yield: 1 cup

Keywords: Sauce, Easy, Condiment, Dip, Marinade, Hot and Spicy, Southeast Asian

( RG1147 )