Nước chấm

Nước chấm, or more specifically nước mắm chấm for the fish-sauce version, is a common name for a variety of Vietnamese dipping sauces that are often served as condiments. It is commonly a sweet, sour, salty, savoury and/or spicy sauce.

Nước mắm pha is the most well known dipping sauce made from fish sauce. Its simplest recipe is some lime juice, or occasionally vinegar, one part fish sauce, one part sugar and two parts water. Vegetarians create nước chấm chay or nước tương by substituting Maggi seasoning sauce or soy sauce for fish sauce.
To this, people will usually add minced uncooked garlic, chopped or minced bird's eye chilis, and in some instances, shredded pickled carrot or white radish and green papaya for bún. Otherwise, when having seafood, such as eels, people also serve some slices of lemongrass.
It is often prepared hot on a stove to dissolve the sugar more quickly, then cooled. The flavor can be varied depending on the individual's preference, but it is generally described as pungent and distinct, sweet yet sour, and sometimes spicy.

Varieties by region

People in the north of Vietnam tend to use nước mắm pha, as cooked by using the above recipes, but add broth made from pork loin and penaeid shrimp. In the central section of the country, people like using a less dilute form of nước mắm pha that has the same proportions of fish sauce, lime, and sugar as the recipe above, but less water, and with fresh chili. Southern Vietnamese people often use palm sugar and coconut water as the sweetener.

Uses

Nước mắm pha is typically served with:

Cơm tấm, a cracked-rice dish with meat, poultry, eggs, seafood or vegetables. The toppings are often fried, grilled, braised, steamed/boiled, or stir-fried.
Chả giò, spring rolls
Gỏi cuốn, which are sometimes called shrimp salad rolls or "rice paper" rolls, or as spring rolls
Bánh cuốn or "rice rolls", where wide sheets of rice noodles rolled up, and topped with stir-fried or braised meat or seafood, with soy sauce or fish sauce
Bánh xèo, a pan-fried crêpe made from rice flour and coconut milk, and filled with pork, shrimp, onion and bean sprouts, and topped with herbs
Bánh hỏi, very thin vermicelli layered into sheets, and separated by thin layers of mỡ hành
Bún, rice noodles with meat, poultry, eggs, seafood or vegetables. The toppings are often fried, grilled, braised, steamed/boiled, or stir-fried.