: a sauce made of fish (such as anchovies) fermented in brine

Examples of nuoc mam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web As with the company’s other nuoc mam, or fish sauces, only anchovies and sea salt are fermented to make the funky dark condiment, so essential for contributing umami to many preparations. Florence Fabricant, New York Times, 4 Dec. 2023 At this San Francisco restaurant, Matthew Ho evolves northern Vietnamese with dishes such as Viet-Cajun gambas and kale-avocado salad with nuoc mam in an energetic setting. Hugh Garvey, Sunset Magazine, 5 Sep. 2023 Bánh xèo, with nuoc mam cham on the side. Star Tribune, 22 Jan. 2021 In Tagalog, this is patis, cousin to nuoc mam in Vietnam and nam pla in Thailand. Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 1 Mar. 2023 It’s served fanned out on a plate with rice noodles, lettuce wraps and nuoc mam chimichurri. San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Feb. 2022 Sure enough, the banh ram ít were even more extreme in their crisp-soft contrasts and lifted off in flavor with a generous hit of nuoc mam cham. Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2021 Many Vietnamese recipes call for fish sauce, also called nuoc mam. Linda Gassenheimer, Twin Cities, 5 Aug. 2019 The other half is a plate fanned with luscious sliced duck meat, ready to warm in the broth or dip in nuoc mam gung — a cousin of the usual seasoned fish sauce that packs a delirious knockout punch of sweet ginger flavor. Dominic Armato, azcentral, 10 July 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'nuoc mam.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Vietnamese nước mắm, literally, salted fish sauce

First Known Use

1879, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of nuoc mam was in 1879

Dictionary Entries Near nuoc mam

Cite this Entry

“Nuoc mam.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/nuoc%20mam. Accessed 20 Apr. 2024.

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