Nuoc Mam Cham (Nước Mắm Chấm)

To take away fish sauce from the Vietnamese is like draining blood from a living soul. That is how essential nuoc mam is to Vietnamese cooking, and nuoc mam cham, the dipping sauce made from it, is the condiment that appears at virtually every Vietnamese meal. It sits on the table the way salt and pepper sit on a Western table, except it does more. It is the dressing for noodle bowls, the dip for spring rolls, the sauce for grilled meats, and the seasoning that gets spooned over steamed rice.

The recipe is five ingredients: fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar, and chili. Every Vietnamese family has their own version. The balance is what matters. Fish sauce provides salt and umami. Lime juice provides acid. Sugar rounds the sharp edges. Garlic adds raw sharpness. Chili adds heat. When they are in balance, the sauce tastes like nothing you can get from any other combination of ingredients.