Mam Ruoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce with Shrimp Paste)

Fermented shrimp paste gives this dipping sauce a serious umami funk, which you’ll either love or hate. We discovered it when Vietnamese chef Susie Bui visited Cooks Without Borders and shared her recipe for Cha Ca La Vong, Hanoi-style catfish with turmeric and dill. If you’d like a less funky (but also wonderful) Vietnamese dipping sauce, try our Nuoc Cham. The shrimp paste — mam tom trang — is available in Southeast Asian groceries.

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fish sauce

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (juice of 1 juicy lime)

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon shrimp paste

1 to 2 Thai chiles, sliced

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the garlic cloves, fish sauce, lime juice, 3 tablespoons water, sugar, shrimp paste and chiles. Taste and add more lime juice, sugar or chiles as necessary.