Nước chấm

What makes it nước chấm

• Fish sauce, thinned — not used neat.
• Sour, sweet and salty in balance, with chilli heat.
• Garlic and chilli chopped fine so they float.

Where it comes from

Nearly every Vietnamese meal has a bowl of it. It's mixed to taste and every cook's is different — sweeter in the south, sharper in the north, sometimes with rice vinegar instead of lime. It dresses noodles, dips rolls and seasons plain rice.