• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tablespoon rice or plain vinegar (optional)
  
• 2 tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice (about 2 limes)
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 Thai chile or Jalapeno
  
• 3 clove of garlic, use more or less according to taste
  
• ~1/8 cup fish sauce, adjust to taste
  
• pickled carrots and daikon, optional.
• Rooster brand chile garlic sauce (optional)
  

Add water and sugar to mix well to dissolve. You can heat the water up before hand to make it dissolve quickly. Add lime juice and vinegar (optional). It should taste like a very very bland lime-ade.  If you have a morter, crush the garlic and chiles (if not, finely mince them) together and add to the mixture. Finally, slowly add the fish sauce a few tablespoons at a time instead of all at once. Taste frequently and stop when you feel it's just right. It's much easier to adjust the flavor of the dipping sauce by adding the fish sauce at the end bit by bit, adjusting to your personal taste.  For a deeper red color, add some chile garlic sauce.  You can also add pickled carrots and daikon into the nuoc mam cham as well