Some call it a condiment, but fish sauce is more of a seasoning in a sense that we use it primarily to season our food. Its main purpose is to add saltiness; and the secondary purpose, but still very important, is to add umami or savory flavor.

Lovely cookbook with varied recipes! I've already made a couple of dishes -- so good! Can't wait to get my physical copy! 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. 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. Then to make the final bottle, the first press is combined with subsequent presses at a ratio specific to that brand. So the fish sauce quality is determined by how much of that first press is in the final product.

Beginner cooks and experts alike will find something in this book to learn and to make. The photographs are not only useful but induce drooling. If this book doesn't inspire you, nothing will.

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. 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. Finally, the price tag can tell you something. You can use price as a general indication of quality because the most flavourful fish sauce actually takes more fish to make, and should cost you more. By reading books about protagonists who have overcome challenges, we are oftentimes encouraged to do the same. The right book can motivate you to never give up and stay positive, regardless of whether it’s a romance novel or a self-help book.Some brands use a "degree N" number to indicate the amount of protein in the fish sauce, for example Red Boat indicates 40°N while Megachef indicates 30°N. The higher the number, the more protein. Boats and historical events are what make me love reading. Could you please share the sequel books of your series?

From there, the salt draws liquid from the fish, and naturally existing enzymes allow the fermentation process to begin. It ferments for 12 to 24 months, and the resulting liquid is your " first-press", purest, extra-virgin fish sauce. It is a little saltier than most, with 1670 mg of sodium per tablespoon, so if you're watching your salt intake, you may want to go with another brand. But because of this, it is the brand that I now use for my recipe testing to ensure that if you follow my recipe using a different brand of fish sauce, you're not going to end up with something that's is too salty; which is something you cannot fix. TIPAROS. Another classic Thai household name that is on par with Squid and is widely available in the US (though not in Canada). I have used this in Thailand years ago, but have not tried it against other brands in a taste test. I mostly see this product from Vietnam and it's labeled mam nem, though there is also a Thai version called pla ra. If you're looking at a Vietnamese fish sauce, make sure it says nuoc mam or nuoc mam nhi.

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This deep amber sauce has a wonderfully punchy fermented fish nose to it. The flavour is savoury and umami with a rich but clean fish flavour. The fish and umami notes have length and there is a rounded flavour. It tasted nice on its own and it would be a great ingredient in cooking. This product seems more assertively fishy than many commercial fish sauces and as such displays considerable character. 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. 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. Most brands will also add a little bit of sugar to help round off the sharpness of the salt for a more balanced flavour. The presence of sugar, in my opinion, is not a bad thing as it's such a small amount and will only help its flavour. In lower quality fish sauces, other additives such as MSG, flavor, and color might also be added. How to Choose a Good Fish Sauce If you don't consume animal products or you're allergic to fish, there are a few options. You can substitute soy sauce using a 1:1 ratio. However, if the fish sauce is the only seasoning and it's the main flavor, I do a combination of soy sauce and Golden Mountain Seasoning or Maggi Seasoning, just to give it a little more of a sharper flavour that seems to mimic fish sauce better.