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Private tailor-made journeys of a life time
Sep 29, 2023
By Ms. Minh Thu
Vietnamese dipping sauces play a critical role in Vietnamese cuisine. You often hear about Nuoc Mam (Fish sauce) because this is the most popular Vietnamese dipping sauce that has spread its reputation to other parts of the world. However, Vietnam is a paradise of spices, herbs, and sauces, so besides Nuoc Mam, there are many other delicious dipping sauces, that make regular appearances in each Vietnamese family’s meal. The Best Vietnam Tour Operator is pleased to introduce the top 5 most popular dipping sauces to you right now.
Vietnamese dipping sauces are the soul of Vietnamese cuisine
Most Vietnamese dishes have quite simple recipes, many dishes are completed simply from scrolling all fresh and unseasoned ingredients together such as Pho Cuon, Nem Cuon, Bun Dau Mam Tom,... so it is not an exaggeration to say that Vietnamese dipping sauces are the soul of those Vietnamese specialties. The dipping sauce gives the food a unique flavor and taste. There are different kinds of sauces that accompany the certain dishes. For example, Eating Bun Dau with Mam Tom (fermented shrimp paste) is considered a perfect combination that other Vietnamese dipping sauces, even Nuoc Mam (fish sauce) can not do.
Vietnamese dipping sauces are made for preservative purpose
The territory of Vietnam stretches vertically from the North to the South, and Vietnam’s coastline is up to 3260 km in length, which brings about an abundant source of seafood for fishing. In addition to that, Vietnam has a dense network of rivers, streams, lakes, ponds,..., which also provides a large amount of fish. When the fish caught is redundant, they are often processed into dishes or products that are easy to preserve. Most Vietnamese dipping sauces are fermented with salt to be gradually used for a long time. Therefore, Vietnam has dozens of various dipping sauces to use in every meal.
Nuoc Mam (Fish sauce), undoubtedly is the most popular Vietnamese dipping sauces, being the indispensable spice in the kitchen of each Vietnamese family. With just a bottle of pure fish sauce, housewives can prepare many delicious dishes. Since when do Vietnamese people eat fish sauce is still a question that cannot be answered convincingly, however, at least, fish sauce has been associated with the Vietnamese dinner table for more than 1,000 years. Nuoc Mam is used for both cooking and dipping. There are many different ways for Nuoc Mam to be served, according to which dish it goes along with.
The traditional Vietnamese way to prepare fish sauce is using the compression method. The fish is mixed well with salt in a ratio of approximately 3:1, then placed in a large wooden barrel, then sprinkled with salt and pressed with ice on top to compress. After 2 - 4 days, open the cork at the bottom of the barrel to collect water. The contents of the barrel after draining the mulch will collapse, the mulch will be closed and incubated for 7 - 12 months. When the content is "ripe", the fish sauce is transparent, has a color ranging from straw yellow to cockroach wings, loses its fishy smell and instead has a characteristic aroma, the first draw is called “nuoc cot”. The remaining residue is added with mulch and salt and then left to ferment again before draining the second and third juices. The batches of water after the juice have gradually reduced protein levels and poorer quality.
Phu Quoc fish sauce and Phan Thiet Fish Sauce are famous for high-quality pure fish sauce, while Nam Ngu and Chin Su are the two most popular fish sauce brands in Vietnam. You can try these brands that we suggest.
Mam Tom or fermented shrimp paste is the second most popular Vietnamese dipping sauces. Its texture is thicker than Nuoc Mam and its aroma and flavor is much stronger than Nuoc Mam. A type of fish sauce made mainly from shrimp or fish and salt, through fermentation to create a characteristic flavor and color. Mam Tom has a light purple color.
Mam tom is indispensable to many dishes such as Bun Dau Mam Tom (vermicelli) and tofu with shrimp sauce. Shrimp paste is often whisked with lemon juice or white wine until foamy to enhance the flavor and dilute it. A little sugar can be added to make the taste less harsh. In addition, shrimp paste is present in many rustic dishes in the countryside, especially Northern dishes such as eggplant pickled with shrimp paste and water spinach salad.
When used as a dipping sauce for pork intestines, it can be eaten with herbs, sour star fruit, astringent bananas, or fresh galangal, depending on the type of meat. When used to eat shrimp paste with shrimp paste and tofu vermicelli or La Vong fish cakes, a little hot fried fat can be added.
In cooking dishes, shrimp paste is an indispensable ingredient when preparing plum and imitation civet dishes. Dishes like Bun Rieu (crab paste vermicelli) and Bun Thang (Hanoi Chicken combo noodle soup) all use the salty taste of shrimp paste to blend with the other flavors.
Similar to durians, Mam Tom is a kind of sauce that if you can eat Mam Tom, you can be addicted to this sauce, but if you can not stand its smell, you and Mam Tom are like enemies. Many Vietnamese people still can not bear the pungy smell of Mam Tom. They tend to use less strong sauces such as Nuoc Mam or soy sauce to fill in for Mam Tom. So it is not strange at all when some people from other countries find this sauce hard to try. Yet there are still some foreigners who love this unique Vietnamese sauce.
Mam Nem (also called Mam Cai) is a popular sauce in many central coastal provinces. Mam Nem is made from fresh fish such as anchovies, scads, herring, cobia, and paraplegic fish. The fish is salted, fermented, can be deboned or not, and then mixed with a number of ingredients such as pineapple, pineapple, sugar… There are 2 types of fish sauce: whole fish sauce and pureed fish sauce. The type of puree during the sun-drying process, the maker stirs it to make it puree and cook faster. People in the Central region often save food for rough seas and stormy days when food is scarce.
Wash fresh anchovies, dry completely, then mix well with salt, add fish sauce and additives, then place in a jar, cover tightly, until the fish sauce turns red when the fish sauce is cooked, take it out and pre-process it, add sugar and chili, garlic is edible. To get delicious fish sauce, the fish sauce maker must be experienced and have the right fish-salt ratio, usually about one to three, but it depends on the season and batch of fish. Too much salt and the fish sauce is salty and not delicious, but too little and the fish sauce is spoiled. The incubation time for fish sauce is only estimated at about three months, but it can also be longer or earlier depending on weather and environmental conditions.
Seasoned fish sauce can be eaten with most rustic dishes. Depending on the regional taste, depending on the dish, the way of eating, the way to prepare fish sauce is different, as well as the choice of whole, ripe, and crushed mam mam accordingly. Seasoned fish sauce is the soul of many delicious dishes in the Central region such as seasoned fish sauce noodles, pork rice paper rolls, banh beo, grilled meat vermicelli...
Mam Ruoc is a type of sauce made from tiny shrimp, sea shrimp, “moi”, living in brackish or salt water. However, the taste and color of shrimp paste is not the same as shrimp paste. It is much less strong and pungy, and even more fragrant. Shrimp paste usually does not have a fishy smell like shrimp paste and is often used in Southeast Asian countries and South China including Vietnam.
Mam Ruoc can be used as a spice when cooking soup or mixed with water to make this dipping sauces. But being used as a separate dish is more common. Eating Mam Ruoc with white rice is also delicious, which is enough for a meal without more accompaniments. Mam Ruoc is considered less healthy than Mam Tom, because the brewing time is very long (at least 6 months or up to 10 months), while Mam Tom just needs 1 to 3 months to be used. However, according to many scientific studies, incubation for such a long time helps proteins and amino acids to be completely decomposed. This is very beneficial for the digestive system and good for the human body.
This is the only sauce in this list whose main ingredient is not from fish or shrimps and no need of fermentation which may last many months before use. Peanuts - the main ingredient, brings about the richness, combined with the hotness of chili and punginess of garlic. According to different dishes it accompanies that it is added with many various ingredients such as fried pork grind paste or tamarind paste to boost the flavor of the dish. You can use Sot Dau Phong to dip vermicelli with grilled pork, Vietnamese grill pork sausages,...
First, roast the peanuts, wait for them to cool, then rub off the outer shell to prepare for pounding. Cut the chili in half and remove the seeds to make it less spicy. If you like spicy food, you can keep the seeds. Peel the garlic and pound it with peanuts, chili and garlic. A reminder for you is that the finer you grind, the more flavorful and delicious the sauce will be. Continue to add sugar and grind it with the above ingredients, adding a little MSG to balance the taste of the sauce. After pounding until desired, pour the ingredients into a bowl, season with fish sauce, kumquat, and filtered water and stir well. You can adjust the seasoning to make the sauce suitable for your family's taste. If you want the sauce to be thick, you can mix a little cornstarch and pour in the fish sauce and bring to a boil. Then just wait for the fish sauce to cool and enjoy the super attractive grilled pork mixed vermicelli dish.
Now you know the reason why in the middle of the food tray in every Vietnamese meal is there a bowl of dipping sauces, don’t you. The important role of Vietnamese dipping sauces is undeniable. If you want to discover Vietnamese cuisine, you must know about these 5 types of Vietnamese dipping sauces. Thanks a lot for reading!
