Classic Nuoc Cham

Name: Classic Nuoc Cham
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: about 1½ cups (360 ml)
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1/3 cup fresh (2 or 3 limes) (80 ml) Lime Juice; 1 Tbsp unseasoned Japanese (optional) (15 ml) Rice Vinegar; 3 Tbsp (37 g) Sugar; 2/3 cup lukewarm (160 ml) Water; 5–6 Tbsp (use 5.5 Tbsp mid) (82.5 ml) Fish Sauce; about 6 chiles (12 g) Bird's Eye Chile

Independent adaptation of a publicly published Andrea Nguyen recipe. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Andrea Nguyen.

DIP · SPRING ROLLS & GRILLED MEATS

A dip for spring rolls & grilled meats.

Andrea Nguyen's classic nuoc cham for spring rolls.

On the jar

NUOC CHAM

Method: shake
Yield: about 1½ cups
Ingredients: 6
Jar batch: 0.7× recipe

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Ratio

WATER 160 mlFISH SAUCE 83 mlLIME JUICE 80 mlRICE VINEGAR 15 ml

Ingredients

Lime Juice1/3 cup fresh (2 or 3 limes) (80 ml)
Rice Vinegar1 Tbsp unseasoned Japanese (optional) (15 ml)
Sugar3 Tbsp (37 g)
Water2/3 cup lukewarm (160 ml)
Fish Sauce5–6 Tbsp (use 5.5 Tbsp mid) (82.5 ml)
Bird's Eye Chileabout 6 chiles (12 g)

Method

Pour to the lines in order (bottom → top): WATER, FISH SAUCE, LIME JUICE, RICE VINEGAR.
Shake-to-line (dashed marks): add SUGAR. Spoon in, shake, and top up until the settled level reaches each dashed line.
Season to finish: BIRD EYE CHILE (2 chiles).
Cap the jar and shake until emulsified.

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The ratio lives in glass now.

You found this recipe once. On a PantryFlex jar it's printed in glass. 6 ingredients, one pour order, no measuring cups on a Tuesday.

1 kitchen · 1 national award

Classic Nuoc ChamNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: NUOC CHAM
Ginger Fish VinaigretteNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: GINGER
Zesty Chile Lime VinaigretteNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: ZESTY
Easy Nuoc ChamNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: NUOC CHAM

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Provenance

Vietnamese cookbook author based in Santa Cruz; James Beard Award for The Pho Cookbook. Teaching and published recipes-not a restaurant chef-cover nuoc cham, pho, and Viet technique.

Adapted from a Andrea Nguyen recipe (Andrea Nguyen Into the Vietnamese Kitchen / Splendid Table).

FAQ

Can this go in a shake jar?

Yes. Its liquids pour to printed fill-lines, so it can be one of the sauces on a PantryFlex jar.

What do the quantities mean?

This page lists the published recipe in household units (with metric in parentheses). A PantryFlex jar makes a 0.7× batch of it. The jar's printed lines, counts, and QR guide are already scaled to match, so follow the jar or this page, not a mix of both. Amounts in the jar’s ADD row are rounded to the nearest common spoon measure (T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon) so they can be read off the glass.

Where did this recipe come from?

Adapted from Andrea Nguyen Into the Vietnamese Kitchen / Splendid Table (published as “Classic Nuoc Cham”). Full citation lives in Provenance.

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