Fish sauce (Nước Mắm) is the heart and soul of Vietnamese cuisine. We use it for seasoning, marinating, and making dipping sauces.
Many people call Vietnamese fish sauce Nước Chấm. While not entirely incorrect, as a native Vietnamese, it sounds odd to me. Today, let’s clear up this confusion.
What is Mắm?
Before talking specifically about Nước Mắm (fish sauce), we will talk about Mắm. In Vietnam, Mắm broadly refers to fermented aquatic species like fish, shrimp, squid, and even clam.
Fermented foods have long been a part of Asian cuisine. You may have heard of Soy sauce, Kimchi, Miso, Natto, Gochujang, Tempeh, or Kombucha. They are all fermented foods.
People believe this fish sauce originates from ancient Chinese methods of making condiments from fish fermented with soybeans and salt.
There are many fermented seafood sauces and pastes across Southeast Asia, such as Thai Pla ra, Lao Padaek, Khmer Prahok, Filipino Bagoong and Vietnamese Mắm.
In Vietnam, you can find many kinds of Mắm, such as:
Nước Mắm: The liquid obtained by fermenting small fish (anchovies being the most popular) with salt. In Vietnamese, “nước” means water.
Mắm Tôm: A fermented shrimp paste popular in Northern Vietnamese cuisine, known for its strong, pungent flavor. Mắm Tôm is a signature seasoning for Bún Riêu & Canh Bún (crab noodle soup), Chả Cá Lã Vọng (turmeric fish with dill), and as an accompaniment for Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm (rice noodles with fried tofu and fermented shrimp paste) and Bún Mọc (rice noodle soup with pork meatballs).
Mắm Ruốc: Another fermented shrimp paste but popular in the Central and the South. It’s a must-have for Bún Bò Huế (Hue spicy beef noodle soup).
Mắm Nêm (or Mắm Cái): A fermented anchovy sauce that uses both the fish and the liquid. Mắm Nêm is primarily used for making dipping sauces. It pairs wonderfully with Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Gỏi Cuốn) or Boiled Pork Belly (Thịt Luộc).
Mắm Bò Hóc: The Vietnamese term for Khmer Prahok. It’s a specialty in An Giang province, bordering Cambodia, made from freshwater fish like snakehead fish (cá lóc) or dorab fish (cá linh). It’s used in many Southern Vietnamese dishes like Bún Mắm (fermented seafood noodle soup), Lẩu Mắm (the hot pot version of Bún Mắm), and Mắm Chưng (steamed egg meatloaf with fermented fish).
Let’s Talk About Nước Mắm
Nước Mắm (fish sauce) is just the entry point into Vietnamese cuisine. Is it pungent? Yes, but it’s still relatively mild compared to other Vietnamese fermented sauces.
But why is Nước Mắm a cornerstone of Vietnamese cuisine? It hits the fifth taste bud “umami”, delivering a savoriness that goes beyond just being salty.
Nước Mắm is equivalent to Filipino Patis, Korean Aek Jeot, and Thai Nam Pla.
However, to cook authentic Vietnamese dishes, I highly recommend using Vietnamese fish sauce. Vietnamese people prefer the fish sauce, which is not too strong-smelling, with a a clear, deep golden amber hue.
Vietnam, with its beautiful long coastline, is home to many fish sauce craft villages from the North to the South. Many people claim that the best Nước Mắm in Vietnam comes from Phú Quốc island.
While Phú Quốc does produce a lot of high-quality fish sauce, you can also find excellent fish sauce from other parts of the country such as Cát Hải (Hải Phòng province in the North), Nam Ô (Đà Nẵng in the Central region), Nha Trang (my hometown, in the Central region), and Phan Thiết (Bình Thuận province, also in the Central region).
If you travel to Vietnam and are looking for a great souvenir to bring back home, I highly recommend fish sauce. Besides, Vietnamese coffee, peppercorns, and chocolate are also worth buying.
How to Use Vietnamese Fish Sauce in Cooking
How to Choose Fish Sauce for Cooking
First, let’s discuss how to choose good fish sauce for cooking. In Vietnam, my mom always keeps two kinds of fish sauce: the first-pressed fish sauce (nước mắm nhĩ) and the less concentrated one.
- The first-pressed fish sauce is more expensive and is often used to make dipping sauces (nước chấm) or to season food just after cooking to preserve its umami flavor.
- The less concentrated fish sauce can be used more generously for marinating and seasoning.
“First press” fish sauce, meaning the sauce is bottled from the first draining of the fermenting barrels, also indicates quality.
The quality of fish sauce is measured by its nitrogen level (N). Most first-press, high-grade fish sauces have over 30N, with some even reaching 40N. In contrast, the more common fish sauces on the market typically fall within the mid-20N range.
In Vietnam, there are many choices for first-press fish sauce, as all brands typically offer a line of high-quality fish sauce.
However, in Germany, the options are limited. The most popular high-quality fish sauce here is Red Boat. I also highly recommend Thanh Hà fish sauce from Phú Quốc island. This family company has been making fish sauce for around 100 years.
I worked as an associate at the Food World Exhibition in Cologne in 2023 and had the opportunity to try their fish sauce. It’s excellent.
How to Use Fish Sauce
- Seasoning and Marinating
In Vietnam, fish sauce is the most popular condiment for seasoning and marinating foods, from soups and stews to grilled dishes, stir-fries, and braises. You can use fish sauce as a substitute for soy sauce, salt, or chicken powder, as it provides both savory and umami flavors.
Some Vietnamese Recipes with Fish Sauce:
GRILL
SOUP & STEW
NOODLE SOUP
BRAISE
STIR-FRIES
- Making Dipping Sauce
Fish sauce is the essential ingredient to create the most popular dipping sauce in Vietnamese cuisine, known as “Nước Chấm” in Vietnamese restaurants in the West.
This sauce accompanies many Vietnamese dishes such as:
Dipping sauce for:
Rice noodle salad dressings for:
Nước Chấm is typically made from fish sauce, lime or vinegar, sugar, chili, and garlic. But why does this term sound odd to natives?
It’s because “Nước Chấm” is a generic term for dipping sauce in Vietnamese. If you travel to Vietnam and ask locals for Nước Chấm, they might be confused because there are many varieties of Nước Chấm, and they may not know which one you’re referring to.
In Vietnam, Nước Chấm can be made from fish sauce, soy sauce, shrimp paste, salt, and lime…
A more accurate term for the so-called “Nước Chấm” in the West could be:
- “Nước Mắm Pha” (diluted fish sauce)
- “Nước Mắm Chua Ngọt” (sweet and sour fish sauce)
- “Nước Mắm Chấm” (dipping fish sauce)
- “Nước Mắm Tỏi Ớt” (garlic chili fish sauce)
Nước Mắm vs. Nước Chấm: The Conclusion
In short, if you refer to pure fish sauce, it’s called Nước Mắm.
The prepared fish sauce with sugar, vinegar, garlic and chili in Vietnam is often called “Nước Mắm Pha” or “Nước Mắm Tỏi Ớt,” making it more specific than the general term Nước Chấm used in the West.
Nước Chấm means dipping sauce in Vietnamese. It is a generic term that refers to all kinds of dipping sauces, which can be made from fish sauce or other ingredients.
Related Recipes | More “Nước Chấm” (dipping sauce) recipes in Vietnamese cuisine:
Demystifying Vietnamese Cuisine:
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