Vietnamese fish sauce, nước mắm, is THE go-to-sauce that is sweet, spicy, tangy and so versatile. Make this delicious dipping sauce with under 5 ingredients and within 5 minutes!
In Italy, there is a saying: all roads lead to Rome. In Vietnam, all roads will literally lead you to the Vietnamese fish sauce, nước mắm. Nước mắm pronounced like "nook mum" is a staple in Vietnamese cuisine. This Vietnamese fish sauce goes well with egg rolls, spring rolls and 80% of Vietnamese entrees. This sauce is super simple and easily customizable. Everyone makes their sauce a little differently but the signature taste will be a burst of sweet, tangy, umami flavor.
Nước mắm is made with sugar, fish sauce, fresh lime juice (citrus), minced garlic and minced bird's eye peppers/Thai chiles. Cooks of all levels have trouble balancing the flavors of Vietnamese fish sauce. Getting the combination of salty, sweetness and tart levels can be challenging. As simple as the recipe sounds, it can get tricky. But there are no tricks here only treats. This is my go to recipe for an easy and quick nước mắm and it's a winner. To provide a consistency of flavor, we are going to use distilled white vinegar in place of using citrus. It'll be super easy and with some tasting practice your sauce is on its way to perfection!
What is Vietnamese Fish Sauce, nước mắm?
Vietnamese fish sauce is translated to nước mắm. Nước mắm refers to two sauces.
- The bottled fermented fish sauce
- The signature Vietnamese dipping sauce.
Bottle Fermented Fish Sauce
Bottled nước mắm is made up of fermented anchovies, salt and water. Phú Quốc Island in Vietnam is famous for it's fishing community and known for producing the best fish sauces. Fish sauce is made from anchovies, salt, water and time. The fish and salt are fermented and when it's right then will go through an extraction phase.
Nước mắm is not only used in Vietnamese cuisine but also Thai, and Laos. Fish sauce has a very strong smell of fermented fish, it has a strong salty taste with umami.
Signature Vietnamese Dipping Sauce
A very common question asked is if the difference between nước mắm and nước chấm? They are the same sauce.
Nước mắm is so iconic it is also called nước chấm. Nước chấm pronounced "nook" "cha-um", means dipping sauce. So to be referred as THE dipping sauce, it is a pretty bold statement. Just to be clear there are other Vietnamese dipping sauces. But they do not go by "nước chấm" alone.
Nước mắm dipping sauce is used all over Vietnam, from the North, central to south. Vietnam has 3 distinct regions. The North (Bắc), Central (Trung) and Southern (Nam). Everyone uses nước mắm and they flavor it with their own spin. But it still has to have the signature punch of sweetness, tartness, and umami.
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❤️Why You'll love this recipe
- This nước mắm recipe only requires 5 ingredients!
- Once you know how to make this you can make it over and over again with a consistent flavor.
- This recipe comes together in less than 5 minutes!
- This recipe provides a base for a non-spicy Vietnamese dipping sauce and if you want to amp up the spice, just add minced garlic and thai chilis to the mix!
🥄Equipment and tools
- Small food chopper to mince garlic and peppers. (optional)
- A small pot will be used to heat up the liquid in order to dissolve the sugar.
- Measuring spoons are helpful when measuring out the liquid and sugar.
- A small whisk (optional) is useful for when combining the liquid, but a spoon works just fine.
- A glass bottle is preferable to store the nước mắm. I prefer using glass jars but a plastic bottle works, too.
🛒Recipe Ingredients
Key ingredients to make Nước Mắm
- Fish sauce: any brand will work, I currently use Red Boat.
- Granulated white sugar or organic white sugar
- Distilled white vinegar
- Water: Hot water is recommended so that the sugar fully dissolves
- Minced garlic (optional): Add this if you want an kick to the sauce
- Minced Thai chili peppers (optional)- alternatively, use serrano peppers or jalapeno peppers in place of Thai peppers
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
↔Substitutions & Variations
- To add spice you can swap out the Thai chiles for Serrano peppers or add sirachia sauce, or Chile garlic sauce.
- For a sweeter sauce use an addition of coconut flavored soda, Coco Rico. Asian grocery stores usually have this in stock!
- You can replace distilled white vinegar with any citrus but be sure to adjust the sugar content.
- Add small knob of ginger for a spicy/peppery flavor.
👩🏫 How to Make Vietnamese Fish Sauce
Step 1: Turn on stove to medium-high. Add water to a small pot and set on stove until it starts to boil.
Step 2: When small bubbles start to appear, add in sugar.
Step 3: Then add in fish sauce.
Step 4: Stir fish sauce with a spoon or small whisk.
Step 5: Add and stir in vinegar.
Step 6: Turn off the heat.
Step 7: Take off the stove and let it cool. You can pour it into a storage container. I recommend glass container for easy cleaning.
Step 8: Stop here if you don't want any garlic or chilies. For a spicier version, continue on to steps 9-10.
Step 9: Add minced garlic and Thai chilies.
(If you just want a slight kick with no spice just add garlic, and omit the Thai chiles)
Step 10: Stir in garlic sauce and Thai chilies before serving. Dipping sauce is ready!
Expert Tips
- Store in glass carafe with spout for easy storage and serving.
- Make in bulk and store in refrigerator for up to 14 days.
- Add garlic and Thai chilis when you eat it. Having a jar of just nước mắm sauce in the refrigerator is very convenient. Whenever it is time to serve you can customize it to everyone's preferences. (non-spicy, spicy)
- Level up your fried shrimp tempura by using this a dipping sauce!
🙋♀️Recipes FAQ
Nothing. It goes by different names but its the same thing.
Sweet, tangy and umami. Can also be spicy.
Yes. Fish sauce does vary in saltiness, but this recipe will make a desirable nước mắm flavor regardless of what brand you use.
Dipping sauce.* nước - means water chấm - dipping
People refer to nước mắm as nước chấm, too.
Distilled white vinegar provides a consistent taste and is easily accessible at all times of the year.
❄️Storage
Refrigerator - store in a airtight container; glass jars are preferred. However, bigger containers with tight lids are perfect for storage as well.
💕More Vietnamese Recipes You'll Love
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📖Recipe
Easy Vietnamese Fish Sauce Recipe (Nước Mắm)
Equipment
- 1 small pot
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup fish sauce
- ⅓ Cup sugar
- ⅔ Cup water
- 1 teaspoonful distilled white vinegar
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Thai chili pepper
Instructions
- Put small pot on stove and set to medium-high.
- Add ⅓ fish sauce, ⅓ sugar, ⅔ cups water and 1 teaspoonful (15 ml) of distilled white vinegar.
- Use a small whisk or spoon to mix the combination together until it is dissolved.
- Take off stove as soon as sugar is dissolved.
- Let nước mắm sauce cool. Before serving add minced garlic and minced Thai chilies as desired.
2 comments
Pamela
Wow, this recipe is sooo good and it comes together fast! My whole family loves it. Thanks for laying it all out so clearly!
Trang Vo
Thank you so much! It's super easy!