Nasty Fish Sauce??

Has anyone ever had that nasty "fish sauce" they sell in Vietnamese restaurants and other places? It smells like the crotch of a swamp alligator in heat, like rotten, fermented ass, and it's like the worst stuff imaginable, right? How could anyone ever eat that S#???

I had someone once ask my if I wanted that "S#" on a pizza I had ordered. I warned them I'd stab them in the face with "spurtle" if they ever asked me that again!!

Fish Sauce haters of the world...UNITE!! **HOO-AHH**

Well, hang on a second...the stuff is actually called "Nam Pla" (at least the Vietnamese kind is), and it's actually some FANTASTIC stuff! Yes, much of it smells like a rotten jock strap wrapped in a fermented marinated dead cat-fish, but you don't use too much of this stuff because it's really salty. When you do use it, it imparts a flavor unlike any other (and nothing like dead marinated cats and jock straps). In fact, it doesn't even taste like fish at all.

Now, most people think of foods like Thai food as being hot (most don't know of Vietnamese food other than "Pho"), but many of these foods are absolutely delicious. They're not hot; they're very fresh and they're fantastic. AND, there's always this flavor in them you just cant figure out.

Wanna know what it is????

LOL..yep, you guessed it...fish sauce.

So, everyone on the planet thinks they like Thai food because they like "Pad-Thai", right? Honestly, can anyone name any other Vietnamese dish???

Well, even Pad-Thai has fish sauce in it! Yep, stinky rotten socks, fermented rotten cat...fish and a whiff of jockstrap.

I jest, but fish sauce is a really fantastic thing, and anyone who likes any kind of Asian cooking should get past the **gack** reflex initially and actually start using this stuff!!

There are different varieties based on location and culture. There are Vietnamese varieties, Malay, Indonesian, Chinese, and even Japan is now getting into it (albeit mixed with shoyu, or soy sauce).

My brand? Well, it's one of the saltiest and fishiest of all, but one of the best..."Red Boat"

So go get ya some fish sauce, you can get it in most grocery stores (not Red Boat, but others). You can add it to anything and it will make everything better. Doesn't taste like fish, and doesn't taste like Asian...just good. Hell, you could put this stuff on lasagna even, and it would be great.

Just sayin'.

LOL yep got a bottle in my fridge, we used to live near a Thai restaurant and they had an appetizer that was essentially Thai beef jerky and the sauce was mostly fish sauce and best I could tell chili garlic sauce with scallions and it was soooo addicting. Then I found Nam Tok if done correctly it is phenomenal and uts all because of the nasty fish sauce LOL

Nam Tok Recipe: Thai Steak Salad | เนื้อน้ำตก | Thai-Foodie ...
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Ingredients

1 c. sweet Thai rice*
1 pound skirt steak or boneless pork chops
fresh lime juice from 2-3 limes
1 tbsp. toasted rice powder
2 tsp.-1 tbsp. Thai roasted chili powder, depending on spice preference
1-1.5 tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1/2 c.-1 c. water
1 c. green onion, sliced to 1/4 in.
1 c. fresh cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped, and stems minced
2-3 shallots, thinly sliced
1 c. fresh mint leaves
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Instructions

Soak rice over night, or for at least four hours. The less fresh your rice, the longer you have to soak it. If it's really old, just toss it and buy a new batch.
Cook sticky rice using your preferred method while your meat is cooking. If it finishes cooking before your meat is done, make sure you keep it covered so it will stay sticky.
Salt and pepper your meat. Grill the meat to your preferred doneness. Or if you are like me and have no grill, get a cast-iron pan steaming hot, and then put in the meat. If using steak, I cook each side for 2-3 minutes for medium-well, and I always set my timer, so I don't forget about flipping it. After it's cooked, let it sit for about 10 minutes. Then thinly slice it. Keep the juices from the meat in the pan, or on the plate.
Turn the burner to medium, add the sliced meat back into the pan along with water, lime juice, fish sauce, toasted rice powder and chili powder. Mix and taste until preferred flavor. I like the lime in the lead, with the toasted rice powder, saltiness and chili following.
Once the sauce has thickened a bit, turn off the heat and add the shallots. Mix until shallots have softened some. Then add in green onion, cilantro leaves and stems and mint.
Eat with sticky rice, and use your fingers if you want to eat it super Thai redneck-style!
Notes

*You have to use Thai sweet rice to make sticky rice. You can't make Thai sticky rice with any other kind of rice. But if you can't find this rice at the Asian store, or specialty store, have no fear! Just make your favorite kind of rice to eat with your nam tok, and enjoy! 🙂

My ex wife is vietnamese and her father made his own fish sauce. Man it stunk so bad but when she'd use it in dishes it never tasted like fish. Just a sweet, savory yet salty flavor. Her Pho was excellent as well.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Vermicelli with grilled pork, and sliced eggroll, fresh lettuce, and diced carrots with a generous splash of fish sauce- That is taste bud heaven for me.

When I lived over in SE Asia we used to fly up to Vietnam and Thailand all the time. When I first got in-country I freaked out when we went up there. You'd be sitting in this cafe, and it would be about 100 degrees and 100% humidity, and they'd have this bottle of stuff on the table. OMG, it would make your socks roll down it smelled so bad! Seriously, if you were even the slightest bit hungover...it would make you gack!

Often we'd get Pho (the real stuff), and a lot of the guys would use fish sauce like soy sauce. I was actually afraid to eat the stuff at first (thinking I'd be crapping out the door of the helicopter on the way home). But soon I learned what Nam Pla was all about...and the stuff is absolutely fabulous!!

Fish sauce is legend!!

I tried some of the fish sauces, I did not like them at all. I do not like rotted fish sauces or rotted meat sauces. I do not like Worcestershire sauce either. I do not care for anchovies either. All those things tend to give me migranes. I tend to get headaches or doped up from Kimchi and Sauerkraut too.

I guess if a person can't break down tyramines well they have problems with those things. They call that the cheese headache.

a reply to: rickymouse

Fish sauce is not "rotted" fish, it's 'fermented' fish.

The reason you get buzzed from Kimchi and Sauerkraut is because of the alcohol content in the fermentation process.

Kimchi is AWESOME stuff!! (though honestly, I'm not a really big fan of sauerkraut...go figure).

Oh yeah, that stuff is tits.
Also the secret sauce in Worcestershire sauce.
Surprisingly, it's an amazing ingredient in homemade bbq sauce too.
It's similar to truffle oil for proportions in sauces.
You almost need a micropipetter to dose the food right it's so potent.
Although on sushi, it's good drizzled over rolls.
Yum, yum.

originally posted by: Flyingclaydisk
a reply to: rickymouse

Fish sauce is not "rotted" fish, it's 'fermented' fish.

The reason you get buzzed from Kimchi and Sauerkraut is because of the alcohol content in the fermentation process.

Kimchi is AWESOME stuff!! (though honestly, I'm not a really big fan of sauerkraut...go figure).

www.webmd.com...

I get more of the happy drunk feeling from aged foods than I get from good moonshine. Moonshine does not contain any of the added pure ferment like boozes do, good whiskey or other boozes get their good taste, and mind altering dopamine enhancing chemistry from the pure ferment flavor added back to the distilled alcohol. Did a lot of research on how boozes were made and the combinations of the ferment flavor can really enhance the taste of whiskey and other boozes. How long it is aged wouldn't make a difference in taste if they did not add any of the mash taste back into it. Pure alcohol does not have hardly any flavor.

I get the same drunk feeling from most fermented foods and yogurts and cheeses, I studied quite a bit on this subject, it helps to know how things work and make people happy when designing recipes of foods. I am not limited to following a recipe like most people are. You seem to do a lot of designing recipes too, I have just taken it to a scientific approach like food chemists do but try to get the chemistry from natural sources instead of man made chemistries like MSG.

Free glutamate foods give me a buzz and interfere with my ability to study too. Many fermented foods are high in free glutamates. They boost dopamine levels in the brain too high which causes an overloading and dumbing down effect if you eat too much...similar to what way too much sugar or alcohol can do.

I get migraines from foods so I researched why, I also cannot break down aldehydes very good which can also lead to two day hangovers from over two beers or drinks, so I used to figure since I had the third beer, I might as well get drunk since I was going to have a headache for two days anyway.

It's Nice having my genetic data and a good gene app to help to decipher all the things I had problems with over my lifetime. I actually found that things I was avoiding I can moderately eat or I can eat something along with it to take out the negative side effects. Since I figured it out, I now eat a bigger variety of things without headaches or digestive issues.

You have been smelling too many jock straps my friend... 😳😳🤪

I’ll have to try some Red Boat if they have it at the Asian market near me. The place is about the size of a LARGE Wal-Mart, with what seems like Miles of shelves filled with foodstuffs from all over Asia, Eastern Europe, and south & Central America...

And almost NONE of it labeled in English! And that’s not to mention the the best meats in the city, and a selection of LIVE fish!

It’s a virtual gastronomic U.N!

A total adventure every time I go there.

Love it!

a reply to: Bhadhidar

Red Boat is hard to find. We have a huge Asian market here (like ginormous) and they don't have it.

The only place I've been able to find it here in the US is on Amazon.

ETA - It's imported from Vietnam

a reply to: rickymouse

Gosh, I could write a whole book on fermentation vs. distillation. Unfortunately, I'm very tired, and I'd go way off-topic on the matter anyway, but suffice to say...fermentation has little to nothing to do with what you taste, or experience, with things like 'moonshine' and distilled spirits. Beer and wine (fermented beverages) are a different story, but not distilled products. Completely different process.

(speaking of which...I probably need to go check my wine! Thanks for the reminder!!)

Would that be nastyfish sauce or nasty fishsauce ?

It’s a good ingredient for authentic Thai and Vietnamese foods.

It smells bad but once cooked it’s good.

Also in papaya salads with some raw garlic and chilli it is nice.

originally posted by: Lagomorphe
You have been smelling too many jock straps my friend... 😳😳🤪

I was thinking that, the smell similar to my ex.

Cheers for reminding me lags.

Bally

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Something is wrong with you. I LOVE fish sauce. in a stir fry, with rice...

Just don't ever, EVER, look up how it is made.. No don't.. don't google it...

a reply to: gallop

I would think you might have detected a bit of jest in my OP.

I love the stuff! Heck, I bathe in it...I wear it for cologne, erm...eau de toilette

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk

Fish sauce sits next to the soy sauce in our fridge. There are a few recipes and marinades that call for it. One in particular is a baked chicken thigh recipe where you use it pretty prominently in the marinade with the usual Asian flavors, and then bake 'em, skin on. The skin gets crispy and has that wonderful, Vietnamese style flavor to it. We serve 'em over homemade yellow rice.

a reply to: Flyingclaydisk


Ummm...”The Old Battle-ax”...keeps threatening to throw away my elixir of the Gods...

I told her if she did...she’d find all her # out the curb...

And she’s got one hell of a lot of #...







YouSir