Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
Anything that is not a clear brown liquid! If you see "fish sauce" that is a murky, brownish-grey liquid, that is a different thing altogether and is NOT what you want unless you are making specific dishes that call for it. It's an unfiltered fish sauce with a much more pungent flavour. Price is just a general rule of thumb though, and should not be used as the only indicator (I've seen some ridiculous pricing on fancy-looking fish sauce with a bunch of additives!). But once you've already considered the two points above, price can be used as a tiebreaker.
No. If that were true, most Thai dishes would taste fishy. I have received many messages from first timers who smell it, then immediately cannot imagine how this could be added to food. I've even had someone asking me if it had gone bad! I saw what he meant when we pulled into a narrow driveway, that didn’t look like it would lead to much from the street. The streets in Vietnam seem to be a jumble of everything, with different kinds of shops and restaurants, and other kinds of businesses, all mixed together. I was amazed at what kinds of businesses I randomly came across just walking around or passing on our motor scooter.And yes, you CAN use fish sauce outside of Asian cuisine! Remember it's just a source of salty and savory taste. Richer foods are great for experimenting as the fish flavour won't be too obvious: try it in stews, chili, bolognese sauce, braised meats, pasta sauces, or meatloaf! Prik nam pla is a great way to use fish sauce. It's a popular tableside fish sauce condiment that you can use to boost the flavour of any dish.
Other than that, cooking this recipe was clear and not hard at all. I was surprised at the inclusion of sweet potatoes, but they were really good in the dish. (Of course we can’t find Japanese sweet potatoes around here!) If it's not a clear brown liquid, it's NOT the fish sauce you want. This is mam nem, an unfiltered fish sauce. Storage Tips When I first spent a month in Southeast Asia I fell in love with the food. The flavors were unlike anything I had ever experienced and I wanted to take home as much of that as I could. The best I could do was some dry herbs and recipes that I collected throughout my trip. I could never quite duplicate it the way it was there and attributed that to two things: it ALWAYS tastes better when someone else is cooking, even if you follow their recipe to the letter, and the ingredients at home were just not on the same level. That’s when a friend introduced me to Red Boat Fish Sauce. It was the start of my journey to getting as close to the original recipes as I could.While you could get fish sauce in California, none tasted anywhere hear as good as the fish sauce they'd grown up with in Saigon which came from Phú Quốc, an island off Vietnam. In 2006, Cuong, was visiting Vietnam a lot on business and went to meet the owners of a fish sauce factory in Phú Quốc. This led to a deal and him eventually becoming the owner of this factory and spending many years on perfecting the making of the best ever fish sauce which is now sold and marketing as Red Boat Fish Sauce. I loved the section on the process of the making with details of finding the right anchovies, the right salt, the right combinations and timings of mixing the two and all about the importance of nitrogen levels, The best fish sauce, as exemplified by Red Boat Fish Sauce, should only contain two ingredients - anchovies and salt - had have a high nitrogen level. It is also a little like extra virgin olive oil in that the first extraction is the best and subsequent ones are of inferior quality. It is a great chance to read the books of important authors. I know that. I'm looking forward to your new books.
Lovely cookbook with varied recipes! I've already made a couple of dishes -- so good! Can't wait to get my physical copy! If you are need a soy-free and gluten-free option, coconut aminos might be a good substitute though I have not personally tried it. Want to Keep Learning About Thai Ingredients? Golden Boy (or as I call it, the creepy baby brand). If this is the only one you have, fine, but it isn't the best quality despite a relatively simple ingredient list. That's mostly it. I'm not sure how difficult these recipes are as I haven't tried any of them. I also have to say that aside from the pictures, it was annoying because this isn't a book you can hold open unless you use some sort of weight. It's more of a book that looks nice on your shelf or you either copy the recipes or hold the book open to keep your place for the recipe as you cook.
You may come across Megachef fish sauce in two different looks: brown and blue. The brown one is a formula that is sold in Thailand, while the blue one is for export only. From my tasting, the blue one is less salty with 1500 mg sodium vs 1580 of the brown one.
If you're an occasional user, keep opened fish sauce in the fridge. If the fridge is not an option for some reason, at the very least store it in a cool, dark place. This is because over time, the flavour does deteriorate and becomes more pungent, and the color will be visibly darken. Keeping it cold, in the dark, and tightly sealed will slow this process down significantly. It does contain hydrolyzed vegetable protein which is a flavour enhancer, not unlike MSG, so it breaks my "simple ingredient list" rule. But it still tastes good so I make an exception for it. The book’s overall design is fun and fitting! I love the beautiful eye-catching colours and the wonderful fonts. I do wish more of the recipes had accompanying pictures. However, the included pictures are clean and bright with wonderfully simple staging that effectively highlights the gorgeous food. It isn't often that I actually sit down and read a cookbook...but I read this one! I loved the story about how Red Boat Fish Sauce got started, the intro about Vietnamese cooking and ingredients, and the family anecdotes and photos!SON. Similar to Red Boat, Son is a premium Vietnamese fish sauce that contains only the first press without added water or sugar. The traditionally crafted fish sauce is matured in wooden barrels for one year. Grade N is an industry standard that indicates the protein content and quality of fish sauce. Commercially available fish sauces are usually less than 20° N. Red Boat is 40° N. Other recipes in the cookbook looked delicious: Seafood Chowder, Pineapple Catfish Soup, and Walnut Pesto with Shrimp to just mention three.
Related:
Great Deal 
New Comment