Vietnamese Spring Roll Dipping Sauce
By Suzanne Corcoran,
You can make this Vietnamese classic dipping sauce at home in just a few steps with just a few supermarket ingredients.
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ½ cup water
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 small clove fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, or to taste
This is the classic dipping sauce that is served in every Vietnamese restaurant that I know. It goes with spring rolls, Vietnamese Crepes or just sprinkled on rice. No cooking is necessary. The only special ingredient is Asian fish sauce, which is becoming more available in supermarkets all the time and is easy to order online.No-Boil Lime VersionIngredients:3 tablespoons lime juice (from one large fat thin skinned lime, bottled okay)2 sugar½ cup water1 tablespoon fish sauce (I use Three Crabs brand) or up to 2 ½ tablespoons according to taste1 small clove fresh garlic, peeled and chopped1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce, or to tasteCombine all ingredients and let stand to let flavors combine. Serve at room temperature.Alternate version:¼ cup water¼ cup fish sauce (Nuoc Mam)2 Tablespoons vinegar3 Tablespoons fresh lime juice2 Tablespoons sugar1 clove fresh garlic, peeled and chopped fine1 Tablespoon fresh carrot, julienned1 chili pepper, chopped fine, or bottled crushed red pepper to tasteJust combine all the ingredients and let stand at room temperature for 30-45 minutes for the flavors to come together. Make sure the sugar is dissolved well.Adjust the seasoning to your taste by adding a little lime juice if it is too sweet and more fish sauce if it needs salt. This keeps well in the refrigerator for a week or so.