Diane’s Vietnamese Fish Sauce Dip Recipe Nuoc Mam Cham

  • 1/4 cup fish sauce 
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice , or to taste
  • 3 large garlic cloves (preferably mashed in a mortar and pestle but minced will work fine)
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar , or to taste
  • 1-2 fresh thai chiles , to taste
  • 1 teaspoon crushed fresh ginger root (optional for another variation)
  1. Combine all ingredients (fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar, chiles, and optional ginger) in a bowl and stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Or in a mason jar, add all ingredients and shake the dickens out of it.
  2. Serve the dip on or with whatever your heart desires. And don’t forget to offer a side of breath mints after the meal. You can store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 weeks. Enjoy!

easy vegan pho by mimi

  • 2 quarts vegetable broth use better than bullion no chicken
  • 1 large onion quartered, char in foil on stove
  • 4 inch piece fresh ginger
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4-6 whole star anise
  • 4 whole cloves (1/8 tsp cloves)
  • 8 oz. rice noodles
  • 1 lb. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (optional)
  • 1 tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 2 c. shiitake mushroom caps sliced
  • 1 c. julienned carrots
  • 1 c. broccoli florets

For Topping

  • lime wedges
  • hoisin sauce
  • sriracha sauce
  • soy sauce
  • jalapeño slices
  • fresh cilantro
  • scallions
  • fresh basil
  1. easy Pour vegetable broth into a large pot and place over high heat. Bring to a simmer.
  2. While broth heats up, place onion and ginger onto baking sheet and place under broiler. Cook until lightly charred on top, about 4 minutes, watching carefully to avoid burning. Rotate and cook until charred on opposite sides. Add onion and ginger to broth, along with cinnamon, star anise, cloves. Allow to simmer for at least 30 minutes, adding a bit of water if the mixture reduces too much.
  3. While broth simmers, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain into a colander and rinse with cold water.
  4. Mimi’s notes:
  5.  Roast one whole onion, No tamari or soy sauce, Used no chicken base bouillon, parboiled all the vegetables separately with the broth. Roasted whole anise in pan along with cinnamon.

Vietnamese Dipping Sauce by Mai Phom

  • download3 Thai bird chilies or 1 serrano chili, or to taste
  • 1 clove garlic, sliced
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 2/3 cup warm water
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
  • 5 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons finely shredded carrots for garnish (optional)

Cut the chilies into thin rings. Remove one-third of the chilies and set aside for garnish. Place the remaining chilies, garlic, and sugar in a mortar and pound into a coarse, wet paste. (If you don’t have a mortar, just chop with a knife.) Transfer to a small bowl and add the water, lime juice and fish sauce. Stir well to dissolve. Add the reserved chilies and carrots. Set aside for 10 minutes before serving.

Note: Nuoc cham is very amenable to variations and adaptations. In Vietnam, cooks like to use various vegetables to flavor the sauce, such as thinly sliced marinated daikon and carrots, ginger, scallion oil or peanuts and even slices of kohlrabi and the core of a white cabbage. Each imparts a distinctive savoriness.