Name: Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce
Ingredients: ½ cup water; ¼ cup fish sauce (nam pla); 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 clove garlic, minced; ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper; juice of ½ a lime

Why it works: Pepper and lime match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,491 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

Directions

Mix together the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

81Calories

2 gProtein

0 gFat

20 gCarbs

Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 5 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Lime	juice of 1 lime (44ml)	11
Soy Sauce	1 tbsp (15ml)	9
Chili	1 tsp (2.7g)	8
Garlic	1 clove (3g)	4
Water	not in our table	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Pepper + limetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,491 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Clove + peppertop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together17,451 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
Clove + limetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together909 recipes

Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Garlic + limetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together3,411 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
Garlic + peppertop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together27,090 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Fish sauce: Provides the salty, savory umami base that defines the sauce.
Sugar: Balances the salt and sourness with sweetness.
Lime juice: Adds acidity that brightens the sauce and balances the fish sauce.
Garlic: Adds pungent aroma and sharp flavor.

Swap the garlic

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (fish sauce, sugar, clove, pepper, lime):

Cardamomfits better
Cinnamonfits better
Corianderfits better
Garlicthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against fish sauce, sugar, clove, pepper, lime. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.