No matter how old I get, nothing completes a meal quite like nuoc cham. Drizzling a little over each spoonful of rice just hits right.
I only started making my own nuoc cham (or nuoc mam as my late mum referred to it) in the last year. I’ve cycled through several recipes and my most recent attempt used Khanh Ong’s recipe, which he featured on his Instagram.
Acceptance Criteria
According to Khanh, the ideal nuoc cham should be a balance of sweet, sour, salty (and spicy if you’re that way inclined).
What Went Well
Khanh’s instructions were easy to follow. The end result hit the sweet and salty marks pretty well.
What Could’ve Been Better
The resulting nuoc cham was a tad more sour than I would’ve liked. Possibly due to juicier than average lemons. And the spice. I definitely put much more chilli paste than I should have. I also used 4 cloves of garlic, which, in hindsight, was a little too much.
Would I Make It Again?
Certainly. But with amendments. A touch more sugar if the next batch’s lemons prove to be just as juicy. And significantly less chilli and garlic. I recently prepped a few batches of garlic squares, with each square being roughly 2 teaspoons’ worth.
Final Verdict
I love it, even though it still needed fine tuning. The fact that I immediately started thinking about what I’d change in the next batch is a good sign.
