Vietnamese Dipping Fish Sauce Recipe (Nước Chấm/Nước Mắm Chấm)

An simple yet delicious recipe for Vietnamese dipping sauce or nước chấm. Make sure to taste as you go and adapt to your own liking.

Prep time: PT5M

Total time: PT5M

Rating

4.98 stars (106 reviews)

Keywords

fish sauce, sauce

Ingredients

6 tbsp water
2 tbsp sugar
1.5 tbsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 clove minced garlic
1/2 minced bird's eye or Thai chile

Cuisine

Vietnamese

Steps

Combine 6 tbsp water and 2 tbsp sugar in a bowl. Optional: heat 1/3 of the water, then mix in to make dissolving the sugar easier, then add the rest of the water.
Add 1.5 tbsp freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice in increments until you like how it tastes. A good guide is it should taste like lemonade/limeade.
Add 2 tbsp fish sauce in small increments until you like how it tastes. It should be a little strong since it will be paired with unseasoned food.
Top with 1/2 clove minced garlic and 1/2 minced bird's eye or Thai chile then serve.

Nutitrion

Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 43 kcal
Carbohydrates: 11 g
Protein: 1 g
Fat: 1 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 775 mg
Sugar: 10 g

Reviews

Steve In Chicago on 2026-08-08 (5 stars):
Really great recipe. Great as is. I'm using it for dipping spring rolls wrapped in lettuce and there's more of a ratio of the thing-being-dipped to sauce, so I go with a little more lime juice and garlic. I also swapped palm sugar in for the regular sugar (it has a caramel note to it that goes really well with it.
Allie on 2026-02-03 (5 stars):
Not sure where you’re based but I’m in Aus and I just use the aldi one here and this recipe works perfectly at the ratios Huy recommends :)
:3 on 2026-01-08 (5 stars):
yummm
Annie on 2025-12-25 (5 stars):
Come back to this recipe every time I make “nuoc cham”. I use this as a base and customize it for my taste, best recipe I found!!! Thank you, Huy!
Dana T on 2025-12-22 (5 stars):
I’ve used the bottled version and think it tastes great. I wouldn’t use TrueLemon (powder) though…
Marti Wise on 2025-10-15 (5 stars):
Awesome and best tasting fish sauce. Simple ingredients, no fuss. Some others online are too busy with too many ingredients with no balance of ingredients. That's why yours stand out above the rest!
kevin harasymchuk on 2025-09-30 (5 stars):
authentic. Definitely add the hot pepper, even 2..
Tiffany Thu Vo on 2025-09-10 (5 stars):
absolutely balanced and delicious!!
Jerlyn on 2025-05-24 (5 stars):
My go to recipe for fish sauce. Best dipping sauce for fried fish 😋
Jennifer Blake on 2025-04-13 (5 stars):
This was great! I did your pickled carrots and daikon as well, and they are both great. I subbed out the sugar for splenda since I have insulin resistance, and it is slightly better for me that way. Big ask- any suggestions for a lower sodium fish sauce? I have kidney disease, and one serving on this is over half of my sodium allowance for the day, and that is not counting the marinade on the pork if I am making a pork vermicelli bowl. This is currently my "once a week indulgence" at our local restaurant, but I would love to be able to make a slightly safer version for my health needs.
Mona on 2025-01-11 (5 stars):
Love this recipe. This is my absolute favorite Nuoc Cham recipe.
Ruby on 2024-12-14 (5 stars):
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I’ve tried to make all different versions of this sauce and yours is by far the best! So simple and exactly how I tasted it when I’ve gone to Vietnamese restaurants!
J Chan on 2024-10-29 (5 stars):
Great recipe! I’ve tried it a few times. Now, I double everything but the water (I still only used 6 tbsp of water). I quadrupled the garlic and chili. Works perfectly for me!
Mary on 2024-05-09 (5 stars):
Great recipe! Just like the one at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant! I’m a bit lazy and love leftovers so I did the recipe order differently. I added everything except the citrus in a big batch. Then when it came time to eat it I pulled out the amount I wanted for the meal and added the fresh lime juice to that portion. This worked great for the 3 days we had leftovers. The citrus is really the part that gets worse when not fresh. The garlic and chili just end up infusing the sauce more which i personally enjoyed. Thanks so much for the great recipes!
Carly on 2023-05-10 (5 stars):
I keep coming back to your page for all the best recipes! This sauce is one of my favorites and I'm making it for the millionth time tonight. Thank you!!!
Langlay on 2022-11-10 (5 stars):
Why does my sauce look so dark compared to yours? Is there a light colored fish sauce that I can use? My Fish sauce is dark and it is not as appealing as your clear-looking sauce. Thank you.