Total Steps
2
Ingredients
7
Tools Needed
2
Ingredients
- 4 red chilies
- 2 clv <a href="/food/FQRPFPP6/garlic">garlic</a>
- 1 teaspoon <a href="/food/6H6G87VP/sugar">sugar</a>
- 2 <a href="/food/Y5K7YSXM/lime">limes</a>, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon hot <a href="/food/PXTR53Z5/water">water</a>
- 1 tablespoon <a href="/food/Y4YDG2F4/vinegar">vinegar</a>
- 5 tablespoon nuoc mam (fish <a href="/recipe/CSR3C7CY/sauce">sauce</a>)
Instructions
Step 1
Remove stalks from chilies and de-seed if you want a milder dip, though this defeats the purpose of nuoc cham. Pound garlic in a pestle and add chilies one by one, processing until you get a fine paste. Add sugar and lime pieces and pound to a pulp. Remove to a small sauce bowl and add water, vinegar, and fish sauce. <a href="/technique/7S3QCKWK/mix">Mix</a> well and <a href="/technique/Y6MVNCHX/serve">serve.</a> Variations on the sauce <a href="/technique/TPWNYF5L/can">can</a> include chopped coriander, chopped ginger, pineapple, and any fresh herbs.
Step 2
One of the problems with fish sauce is that, unlike impoverished peasants, I don't have to <a href="/technique/H7TNTGFZ/season">season</a> bushels of rice and I really don't like the <a href="/technique/WDCS6JL5/taste">taste</a> of old fish in the thick <a href="/technique/D434P8MH/brown">brown</a> sauces. Cooking tends to remove the smell some but the dips are uncooked. Piquant dips do double duty as condiments and <a href="/technique/MYJ2HRB7/seasoning">seasonings</a> in Vietnamese cooking. The base for these is always nuoc mam and the better clear versions like Thai Golden Boy are almost mandatory at least for me. You <a href="/technique/TPWNYF5L/can">can</a> add ingredients such as lime <a href="/technique/QDWRNXYW/juice">juice</a>, chopped chilies, chopped nuts, spring onions, <a href="/technique/NZ2LK8CC/fried">fried</a> garlic, ginger and fresh herbs such as coriander, sweet basil, and mint.