This simple vinaigrette is surprisingly versatile and can be used as both marinade or salad dressing. As a marinade, it goes well with chicken, pork, or seafood like shrimp and white fish such as tilapia, cod, bass, grouper, haddock, catfish, and snapper. When used as salad dressing, it pairs nicely with sweet and bitter components such as this Fennel & Arugula Salad.

Ingredients

1/4 cup lime juice
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce (nuoc mam) *
1/2 tablespoon samba oelek **
4 cloves garlic, grated
salt and pepper

Directions

Mix all ingredients thoroughly until it emulsifies. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Notes

*Nouc Nam or Vietnamese fish sauce is made from anchovies that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. The best ones are those from the Phu Quoc, an island off the southwest part of Vietnam, and Phan Thiết, in the southeast part of the country. Unlike its Thai or Filipino counterparts, nouc nam is lighter and milder tasting, so keep that in mind when substituting in recipes.

** Sambal oelek is an Indonesian sauce/paste made primarily out of freshly ground hot red chiles with some salt and vinegar to round out its flavor. This readily available at most Asian grocery stores and even in some big box stores. It’s tangier  than sriracha and less complex, however, this makes it more versatile and it works best as an ingredient to a dish as oppose to a finishing dip. Used as a marinade or seasoning while cooking, it will make your dish taste like you’ve used actual fresh chilis.

If you don’t have a bottle, a good substitute will be sriracha, which is more widely available. However, since sriracha has notes of garlic in it already, you might want to adjust the amount of garlic you’re putting in your recipe. Also, because sriracha lacks the distinctive vinegar tang that samba olek has, add about half a teaspoon of white vinegar to the recipe you’re making.