EASY NƯỚC CHẤM Chay (Vegan Vietnamese Classic Dipping Sauce)

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Try this sweet & tangy classic Vegan Vietnamese dipping sauce known as Nước chấm Chay. This recipe is the vegan version of the iconic Vietnamese Dipping Sauce. Made with soy sauce, fresh lime juice, vinegar, Thai Chili, garlic & sugar. A delicious spring roll dipping sauce or vermicelli sauce! 

Lately, I’ve been making a lot of dishes that require a Vietnamese Dipping Sauce. One night I ran out of my favorite fish sauce and had to make a quick last-minute substitute. Instead of using fish sauce I improvised and used soy sauce. Oh boy! This turned out great and my kids loved it. It has the saltiness form the soy sauce but the tanginess from the vinegar and lemon juice. My kids really didn’t even notice the difference between the dipping sauce made with fish sauce or soy sauce. 

Anyways, their untrained palate wouldn’t really be able to tell. But my husband enjoyed it too. It’s a great alternative if you want to entertain friends who have dietary restrictions. This recipe is as close as you can get to getting the real nuoc cham.

Why make this?

Vegan option. Many Vietnamese dishes are made with no meat and it’s very popular in Vietnam to have a day where you enjoy eating chay. Meat-less day to help cleanse the body. This dipping sauce will pair well with any of your vegetarian dishes. If you also have friends who are vegetarian this is a great sauce to make so they can enjoy dipping spring rolls or topping this over those who will be over and you want them to enjoy the 

Tons of flavor. This is tangy, sweet, spicy and salty. The combination of the ingredients creates the perfect balance for a dipping sauce that is perfect for dipping Vietnamese spring rolls (Goi Cuon), or deep friend spring rolls (Cha Gio). Its great to drizzle on top of Vietnamese Steamed Rice Rolls (Banh Cuon) or Vietnamese Grilled Pork with Vermicelli Noodles (Bun Thit Nuong).

Why we love this recipe.

Adjust to your preference. There are three elements to Nước chấm Chay – Sweet, tangy and sour. Adjust if you have a preference for more sweet or tangy or sour dipping sauce. The garlic and Thai Chili is also optional. This is completely up to your individual preference.

Ready in 15 minutes. This recipe can be made in under 15 minutes. The longest wait is letting the hot water cool down once the sugar has dissolved. Make this while you are getting your main dish ready. 

Ingredients, Substitution and Variations

Soy sauce. Use light soy sauce. This helps keep the color of the dipping sauce lighter. Avoid using dark as it will turn the sauce dark. 

Sugar. Use white granulated sugar. If you would like to use a healthier option you can dissolve brown sugar.

Hot water. Boiled water from the kettle helps dissolve the sugar easier. Boiling water over the stovetop and dissolving the sugar this works too. However, to save time and if you are making a small batch boiled water from kettle will work fine.

Vinegar. The vinegar adds a nice tangy tartness to the sauce. If you prefer to not use vinegar add more lemon or lime juice. You don’t need to much because the juice will make the dipping sauce too sour.

Lime/lemon juice. You only need a little bit as the vinegar will already add a lovely sourness. You can even skip the juice but the fresh squeeze lemon/lime juice adds a lovely hint of citrus to the sauce.

Thai red chili pepper or chili paste. This is completely optional and I only add the chili peppers when I want a nice kick. I leave it out when I’m making the dipping sauce for my kids.

Garlic. Similar to the Thai chili peppers I would add this if you plan to consume the dipping sauce within 1-2 days. I usually don’t add when I am making a large batch. It adds a lovely garlic flavor to the dipping sauce.

How to make this recipe

Dissolve the sugar in the hot water. Add the vinegar and lime or lemon juice. Mix until well combined.

Let the mixture cool for 15-20 minutes. Once the mixture is cooled add the soy sauce, thai red chili and garlic. Stir to mix.

Success tips on making the best Nuoc cham chay

Use fresh lemon/lime juice. Fresh juice makes the sour jump. Only a little bit is needed since there is already vinegar.

Let the water and sugar mixture cool. This is an important step to ensure you don’t cook Thai chili and garlic. I let the sugar and hot water cool down before adding the rest of the ingredients. If you add them too early it will draw out the flavors too much and overpower the dipping sauce.

Adjust ingredients. There is no right or wrong recipe. Everyone makes their nuoc cham chay differently and this can easily be adjusted to your preference by adding more or less of he ingredients. If you would like it more sweet add more sugar, if you would like it salty add more soy sauce, more sour or tangy add more vinegar or lemon/lime juice. You can play around with the ratio.

Recipes FAQs

Does this taste like Nuoc Cham?

I honestly will say this will not have the exact same taste as nuoc cham made with fish sauce. Fish sauce has an umami flavor and soy sauce, unfortunately, will not match that exact flavor. This recipe however, doesn’t disappoint! The dipping sauce will taste great with any dishes you would typically use nuoc cham with.

How to store

Keep the dipping sauce in an airtight container for up to 1 week in the refrigerator.

Check out my other Vietnamese Chay recipes

• Banh Bao Chay
• Bánh Canh Chay (Vegetarian Tapioca Noodle Soup)

If you make this recipe, and like it, please give it a rating in the recipe card below and let us know in the comments at the end of the post.

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