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–+ servings

Nuoc Mam (Nuke Mom)

Nước Mắm is a spicy, salty, sweet, umami-packed sauce and a treasure of Vietnamese cuisine. Drizzled over dishes or served as a dipping sauce, it always provides a unique depth of flavor. Given the moniker of "Nuke Mom" by Servicemen.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 4 minutes
Cooling Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 19 minutes
Servings: 12 tbsp
Course: Ingredient, Sauce
Cuisine: Asian, Thai, Vietnamese
Calories: 20
Ingredients Method Nutrition Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ea Limes Juiced, Fresh
  • 1-4 ea Red chilies Small, sliced wafer thin (Thai Birdseye)
  • 1/4 cup Raw Sugar Palm Sugar even better
  • 3 cloves Garlic Peeled, minced very fine
  • 2-4 tbsp Fish Sauce Good quality
  • 1/4 cup Water

Method
 

  1. Combine the sugar and water in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves.
  2. Set aside and cool (leave for one hour)
  3. Stir in the garlic, fish sauce (starting with 2 tbsp), garlic, lime juice (start with the juice of 1), and chilis.
  4. Taste and balance with additional fish sauce and citrus.

Nutrition

Calories: 20kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 0.4gFat: 0.01gSaturated Fat: 0.001gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.002gSodium: 472mgPotassium: 22mgFiber: 0.02gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 5mgIron: 0.1mg

Notes

Get the best quality fish sauce you can find.  
This sauce and its variants are everywhere in Southeast Asia: on the table as a condiment, in the food as an ingredient, and in small bowls as a dipping sauce.
 
Note: One does not necessarily need to go as far as I did with the chilies.

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