Bon Appétit's service editor Kelsey Youngman made the Pork Ribs Glazed With Roasted Nuoc Mam Sauce—they were tender, sweet and funky (from the brown sugar and fish sauce), and no-grill-required.

Things like mắm chua, nuoc mắm (fish sauce) and tương (soybean sauce) all require copious amounts of salt to ferment, and, punch-packed as they are, are inextricable from classic Vietnamese ...