"In case you are not yet familiar with fish sauce, it is that salty, smelly brown liquid made from fish that is the single, most most important flavoring ingredient in Thai cooking (also well loved in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma, and the Phillipines.) Used like salt in western cooking and soy sauce in Chinese cooking, good-quality fish sauce imparts a distince aroma and flavor all its own. It is indispensable in the Thai kitchen as Thai food wouldn't be quite the same without it.
Called "Nam bplah" in Thai, or literally "fish water," genuine fish sauce is the water, or juice, in the flesh of fish that is exracted in the process of prolonged salting and fermentation. It is made from small fish that would otherwise have little value for consumption. These can either be freshwater or saltwater fish.
Natural fish sauce requires time to make. Fresh, good quality fish sauce requres substantial investment for its large-scale production There are many low quality products and imitations. Try to avoid these.
How to tell which brands are good or not? Check the labels and nutritional analyses. Next look for fish sauce with a clear, reddish brown color, like the color of good whisky or sherry, without any sediment. If the color is a dark or muddy brown, the sauce is likely to be a lower grade. Good fish sauce also has a pleasant aroma of the sea, not an overwhelming fishy smell and should not be overly salty. If the bottle you have been using makes the dishes you cook taste too fishy, try a new brand.
Good quality fish sauce not only works wonders on Thai food, it is also good for you. It is high in protein (as much as ten percent for top grade), and this protein is a complete type containing all the essential amino acids that the body requires for growth and regeneration. It also contains a rich supply of B vitamin, especially B 12 and pantothenic acid, riboflavin and niacin. Other beneficial nutrients include calcium, phosphourous iodine and iron."
Meiling Dawson
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