Name: Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (Nước Chấm)
Total time: 10 min
Cuisine: VietnameseAsian
Ingredients: 3 tablespoons sugar, divided; 1 small Thai chile, stemmed and minced; 1 garlic clove, minced; 2/3 cup hot water; 5 tablespoons fish sauce; 1/4 cup lime juice (2 limes)

Why This Recipe Works

Nước chấm, an intensely flavored mixture of lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, water, garlic, and chiles, is a perfect accompaniment to our Vietnamese Summer Rolls (Goi Cuon). To ensure that every drop of the sauce is flavored with garlic and chile, we use a portion of the sugar to help grind the ingredients into a fine paste.

Instructions

Using mortar and pestle, mash chile, garlic, and 1 tablespoon sugar to fine paste (or mash to paste on cutting board using flat side of chef’s knife). Transfer to medium bowl and add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and hot water. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Stir in fish sauce and lime juice.