What do Thai lettuce wraps, spring rolls, vermicelli, steamed lobster, and hot pot all have in common? These meals are not complete without the fish sauce dipping sauce, commonly known as Vietnamese Dipping Sauce, or Nước chấm.
This sauce captures all the flavors of sweet, sour, salty, savory, and spicy all packed into one. This sauce was the first recipe I learned from my grandma and one that I always keep stocked in my fridge.
In this post, I’ll share my grandma’s technique and her dipping sauce recipe.
Preparing the Kitchen Essentials:
- Mortar & Pestal
- Knife
- Chopping Board
The Ingredients:
- Fish Sauce (I use the Three Crab Brand)
- Lime
- Cloves of Garlic
- Red Thai Chili Pepper (the red adds a coloring that enhances the sauce)
- Granulated Sugar
Serving Size: For 1 serving size
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 1 red Thai chili pepper
- 2 tablespoons of sugar
- 1/3 cup of fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup of fish sauce
Step 1: Prepare your ingredients
- Squeeze all the lime juice into a bowl. This will help you be more efficient when it comes to mixing & tasting.
- Peel your garlic. Or buy the already peeled ones like me because I’ve gotten used to this convenience.
Step 2: Make the chili + garlic paste
- In your mortar, add 2 cloves of garlic, 1 red Thai chili pepper, and 1 tablespoon of sugar (to start)
- Crush all of the ingredients together with your pestle until it becomes a paste. Grind it well so that the pepper and garlic are in fine pieces vs. large chunks.
- Tip: be careful of the Thai chili pepper as it can potentially get in your eye.
Step 3: Add your liquids
- Add in 1/4 cup of fish sauce
- Add in 1/3 cup of lime juice
- Stir well into the paste until it dissolves
- Add in the additional 1 tablespoon of sugar
- Mix well
- Tip: depending on your spice tolerance or preference, you might want to add either more lime juice or sugar. But remember to add in small increments at a time (teaspoons).
Step 4: Enjoy or refrigerate for later!
I hope you enjoy this sauce as much as I do. My husband jokingly shared in his vows that when he fell in love with me, he also fell in love with my grandma’s cooking — but he wasn’t joking! My grandma cooks with love and this sauce will always transport me back to my grandma’s kitchen no matter where I am.
Enjoy!
Love, Shayna
