The World Table

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Vietnamese · Sauce

Nuoc Cham

  • Easy
  • 5 min
  • roughly 1 of 4 for cost

umami-deep · tangy-ferment · aromatic · fiery Leads with savory depth stacked from the pantry’s bass notes, ferment tang with real depth behind it, on a slow, honest burn.

Ingredients

  • 3 tbsp fish sauce
  • 3 tbsp lime juice
  • 2 tbsp sugar
  • 6 tbsp water
  • Garlic, minced; bird's eye chili; shreds of carrot

Allergen screen

Found: fish

Screened for: gluten, dairy, egg, nuts, peanuts, fish, shellfish, molluscs, soy, sesame, celery, mustard, lupin, alcohol. Not screened: sulphites.

Screened by keyword from the ingredient list, not reviewed by a person; check every label for what the list cannot show.

Method

  1. Dissolve sugar in warm water.
  2. Add fish sauce and lime; adjust until no single note dominates.
  3. Garlic and chili float on top when it's mixed right.
  4. Keeps a week; you'll use it on everything.

At the Table

The Pour
Off-dry Riesling (Mosel Kabinett)
Also Right
Gewürztraminer or off-dry Chenin
From the Taps
Crisp lager or pilsner
Zero-Proof
Limeade or young coconut

Sugar, cold, and low alcohol are the fire code: sweetness tames capsaicin while acid resets the palate; tannin would fan the flames.

Saved on this device and kept across visits: export from My Menu to move them.

Film school

This dish, cooked on camera Search films of Nuoc Cham Search YouTube: Helen’s Recipes on Nuoc Cham A YouTube search for Helen’s Recipes and this dish. No affiliation.