Instructions: An hour or two before you plan to serve the sauce, thinly slice the chiles and mix them in with the other stuff. Serve chilled or at room temp.

Note: finely minced ginger and/or garlic can be added to either of these with good results, but I like the simple versions because you can taste each element, as well as the harmony of the whole. Another note: Im not sure theres any, or much, difference between Viet and Thai fish sauces. I pretty much stick with the Squid Brand, since thats what I have a huge bottle of. Our first bottle lasted years, but this ones going down faster.

There are as many versions of these sauces as there are cooks of these cuisines. You have to play with either one a bit to get it just the way YOU like it. Viet versions usually include grated carrot, skip the lime juice, and are "heated" with commercial Viet chile paste. Thai versions usually skip the carrots, and use fresh bird chiles instead of paste. Here are a couple of starting points:

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