Nearly Nuoc Cham

Name: Nearly Nuoc Cham
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Yield: about ½ cup (120 ml)
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1/3 cup (80 ml) lime juice Lime Juice; 2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar (37.5 ml) Brown Sugar; 4 tsp soy/tamari (20 ml) Soy Sauce; 1 garlic clove grated Garlic; about 1½ chiles (3 g) Bird's Eye Chile; 1/2 tsp sea salt (2.5 ml) Salt

Independent adaptation of a publicly published Hetty Lui Mckinnon recipe. Not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Hetty Lui Mckinnon.

DRESSING · EGGPLANT & NOODLE SALADS

In the published recipe, this is the dressing for Tenderheart. The same recipe pairs it with Char Siu Sauce, the char siu sauce.

Hetty Lui McKinnon's nearly nuoc cham for eggplant & noodles.

On the jar

NUOC CHAM

Method: shake
Yield: about ½ cup
Ingredients: 6
Jar batch: 2.15× recipe

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Ratio

LIME JUICE 80 mlSOY SAUCE 20 ml

Ingredients

Lime Juice1/3 cup (80 ml) lime juice
Brown Sugar2 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar (37.5 ml)
Soy Sauce4 tsp soy/tamari (20 ml)
Garlic1 garlic clove grated
Bird's Eye Chileabout 1½ chiles (3 g)
Salt1/2 tsp sea salt (2.5 ml)

Method

Pour to the lines in order (bottom → top): LIME JUICE, SOY SAUCE.
Shake-to-line (dashed marks): add BROWN SUGAR. Spoon in, shake, and top up until the settled level reaches each dashed line.
Season to finish: GARLIC (2 cloves), BIRD EYE CHILE (2 chiles), SALT (about 1 tsp).
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.

3 kitchens · 4 national awards

Nearly Nuoc ChamNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: NUOC CHAM
Reliable Dumpling SauceNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: GINGER-SOY
Nuoc Cham Dipping SauceNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: NUOC CHAM
Garlic Chili DressingNATIONAL AWARD WINNEROn the jar: WONTON

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Provenance

Hetty Lui McKinnon is a cookbook author working in Chinese-Australian / vegetarian; recognized with James Beard Book Award: Vegetable-Focused Cooking 2024 (Tenderheart).

Originally published as Nearly Nước Chấm.

Adapted from a Hetty Lui McKinnon recipe (Hetty Lui McKinnon / Stylist (Tenderheart)).

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 2.15× 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 Hetty Lui McKinnon / Stylist (Tenderheart) (published as “Nearly Nước Chấm”). Full citation lives in Provenance.

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