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Vietnamese

Nước chấm

Non-vegetarian

Vietnam's all-purpose dipping sauce: fish sauce balanced with lime, sugar and water, with floating garlic and chilli. Sweet, sour, salty and hot at once.

Nước chấm is a Vietnamese sauce, ready in about 8 minutes and made with fish sauce and lime juice. It serves 6 and is rated beginner to cook.

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Prep
8 min
Cook
0 min
Total
8 min
Serves
6
Level
Beginner
Calories
32

Ingredients

6 servings of 35 ml

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Stir the sugar (opens in a new tab) into the warm water until fully dissolved.

  2. Step 2

    Add the fish sauce (opens in a new tab) and lime juice (opens in a new tab). Taste — it should be pleasant to sip on its own; adjust with more lime, sugar (opens in a new tab) or water.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the garlic (opens in a new tab) and chilli just before serving so they float on top.

    • 1 min

About this dish

Origin
Vietnam · Well documentedMore food from Vietnam
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Sauces · Dips & spreads
Cooking method
No-cook
Taste
sweet & sour, salty, spicy (chilli heat), garlicky
Diet
Pescatarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsPescatarian · Non-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Everyday · Budget-friendly
Cook more with
Fish sauce · Lime juice · Sugar · Garlic · Fresh red chilli

Allergens

  • Contains: Fishfrom fish sauce
  • May contain: Crustaceansfrom fish sauce

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

32 kcal per serving

Calculated

1 serving ≈ 38 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 7%
  • Carbohydrate 93%
  • Fat 0%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g
Energy32 kcal84 kcal
Protein0.6 g1.6 g
Carbohydrate7.9 g20.6 g
Net carbohydrate7.8 g20.3 g
Sugars6.8 g17.9 g
Added sugars6.3 g16.4 g
Fibre0.1 g0.2 g
Fat0 g0.1 g
Saturated fat0 g0 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
Sodium708 mg1846 mg
Salt equivalent1.8 g4.6 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
47 mg
Calcium
10 mg
Iron
0.1 mg
Magnesium
18 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
1 µg
Vitamin C
6 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
6 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Mixing the sugar with the garlic and chilli first, then adding liquid, helps them float.
  • Sour it more for grilled meat, sweeten it more for spring rolls.

Common mistakes

  • Adding sugar to cold liquid; it never fully dissolves.

Serve with

  • With bún chả, chả giò, bánh xèo, broken rice and grilled pork.
  • Toss with rice noodles, herbs and pickled carrot for a noodle salad.

Storage

  • Refrigerate for up to 1 week; add fresh garlic and chilli when serving.

Variations

  • Nước chấm with pickled carrot and daikon: Add a handful of thinly shredded pickled carrot and daikon, as for bún and spring rolls.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

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Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 2, 3

Make it milder, swap ingredients for your diet, change the batch size or thickness — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sauce & Drizzle

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