Mắm nêm

Mắm nêm is a sauce made of fermented fish. Unlike the more familiar nước mắm, mắm nêm is powerfully pungent, similar to shrimp paste; this is in large part because mắm nêm is unstrained, leaving the broken-down fish flesh in the sauce.

Many of the regions that produce fish sauce also produce mắm nêm. It is commonly mixed with sugar, pineapple, and spices to make a prepared sauce called mắm nêm pha sẵn, the key ingredient in neem sauce.