This easy 5-minute Vietnamese fish sauce (Nuoc Cham) is a family recipe made from fish sauce, fresh lemon juice, sugar, garlic and chili. It makes the perfect dressing for noodle salads or dipping sauce for spring rolls.

a jar of Vietnamese fish sauce, traditionally known as Nuoc Cham.

Having worked in a Vietnamese restaurant during my university days, and having Cambodian in-laws who cook authentic Cambodian food, I have noticed that there is a common main ingredient used in these two cuisines. Yup, you guessed it – FISH SAUCE – or more commonly known in Vietnamese as Nuoc Cham or Nuoc Mam, or in Cambodian as Tuk Trey.

Unlike other fish sauce recipes, this recipe will make a fish sauce concentrate that will need to be diluted with water. This method is great, because:

Unlike your typical fish sauce recipe, the shelf-life of this fish sauce concentrate is longer as no water is added to it,
You can make as little or as much fish sauce you would like (I often make just enough fish sauce for my husband and I), and
You will always have a stock of fish sauce concentrate in your fridge (ready for your next Vietnamese meal)!

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR VIETNAMESE FISH SAUCE

½ cup sugar
¼ cup lemon juice or white vinegar
¼ cup fish sauce
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 bird’s eye chili, thinly sliced

STEPS TO MAKE THIS TRADITIONAL NUOC CHAM CONCENTRATE

Step 1: In a small sauce pan, add in the sugar, lemon juice, and fish sauce. Over medium heat, stir the ingredients with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved. Now, add in the garlic and chili. Bring the mixture to a simmer and remove from the heat.
Step 2: Allow the mixture to cool for at least 10 minutes.
Step 3: Dilute the fish sauce concentrate. Either mix 2 cups of water into the fish sauce concentrate, or, to make a smaller amount, scoop out some fish sauce concentrate into a small bowl and add the appropriate amount of water. The fish sauce concentrate to water ratio should be 1:2.
Step 4: Store any unused fish sauce concentrate in an air tight container and refrigerate for up to 3 week.

What it’s commonly eaten with?

There are many types of sauces Vietnamese and Cambodians use. However, this traditional fish sauce is definitely the main sauce used in many of their dishes.

This sauce is very versatile, it can be used as either a dressing, a dipping sauce, or even as a marinade! Here are some dishes that commonly uses this fish sauce:

Vermicelli noodle bowls (Bun Bowls)
Vietnamese pancakes (Banh Xeo)
Spring rolls
Vietnamese rice paper rolls / Cold rolls
Grilled pork chops (Suon Nuong)
Fried fish

How long does Vietnamese Fish Sauce last?

To keep your Vietnamese fish sauce, do not dilute it with water. Store the concentrate in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks. I like to store my fish sauce concentrate in old jam jars, as the fish sauce will leave a smell in your containers that may be difficult to get rid of.