This is a quintessential Vietnamese condiment that goes with countless Vietnamese dishes! A balance of sweet, salty, fermented and tangy, this vegan nước chấm chay is THE BEST.
This recipe for vegan nước chấm chay has been a staple in our house forever. I always have a jar of it in the fridge, either the soy-sauce version or the vegan fish sauce version.
Difference between Fish Sauce vs Dipping Sauce? Nước mắm vs nước chấm?
A lot of people will colloquially call this sauce “fish sauce”. There is a distinct difference between plain fish sauce (nước mắm chay) and the dipping sauce (nước chấm chay). Nước mắm chay is just the straight, salted and fermented vegan fish sauce, whereas nước chấm chay has sugar, garlic, water, chili, and lime juice added to it.
Nước chấm chay is the typical accompaniment to finished Vietnamese dishes. It has a balance of sweet, savoury, tang and spice.
Another common dipping sauce my family would use was plain fish sauce (nước mắm) with cut up chili peppers. This was used to dip fish, seafood, or blanched meats alongside other parts of the meal. It’s not meant to be poured over a whole dish like nước chấm chay is.
Where to find vegan fish sauce?
I find my vegan nước mắm chay at a few different places:
- Coven Hamilton
- Local Vietnamese grocery shops
- B&T Food in Hamilton (Queen St)
- B&T Food in Kitchener (King St E)
- Local Vietnamese vegetarian restaurants (Dai Bi Chay has this!)
I’m sure you can find it at similar places in Toronto, I just haven’t really been in the city much since I moved to Hamilton. I’m not sure what’s available regularly in stores anymore. Vegan Supply carries one, although it’s not the same brand but another vegan fish sauce.
Not all Asian supermarkets will carry it, I find the smaller markets in communities with more Vietnamese (esp Buddhist) populations are more likely to have it.
What if I can’t find vegan fish sauce?
For many years, vegan fish sauce wasn’t available to me, so my family made this vegan version for me with soy sauce. I’ve seen some people make homemade vegan fish sauce that uses a combination of soy sauce, pineapple juice, and seaweed. That sounds like too much work for me, so I just opt to buy it!
Eddie prefers this soy sauce version, and I love both. My family always has the soy sauce version in the fridge ready for us whenever we come visit! Personally, I find some dishes fare a lot better with the soy sauce one (like banh uot or banh cuon)
However, some dishes really do just hit different with the vegan fish sauce version. Spring rolls, bánh xèo, cơm tấm… sometimes you just gotta go with that stinky fermented flavour that isn’t quite there with soy sauce!
How long does nước chấm chay last?
This is probably not up to food safety standards, but I keep mine indefinitely in the fridge. We probably eat it within a month or so, and I will make a new batch in a clean jar for next time.
The combination of boiled water, sugar, and salt means that this sauce can keep for a long time in the fridge. Prepare your nước chấm chay with a very clean cutting board, knife, mortar & pestle, and sanitized jar to have it keep for longer.
I make this full nước chấm chay recipe and always have it on hand in the fridge! Although, if you don’t eat Vietnamese food as frequently as I do, you may find it more practical to half the recipe.
What do I serve nước chấm chay with?
- Bánh cuốn chay (steamed rice rolls with a savoury filling)
- Bánh Xèo chay (crispy Vietnamese turmeric pancakes)
- Chả giò chay (Vietnamese fried spring rolls)
- Cơm Tấm (broken rice with vegan grilled meat or vegan egg meatloaf)
- Bún Chả Giò Chay (Rice Vermicelli bowls with spring rolls)
Recipe Updated Oct 24, 2021
