Fish sauce (called nuoc mam in Vietnamese) is required to prepare Vietnamese foods, and is known as a keystone of Vietnamese cooking. The amber red, salty liquid when mixed with other ingredients is used in cooking to add depth of flavor. When a dish needs an extra something, a shot of fish sauce is usually the solution. It can be sprinkled straight onto hot rice, diluted with other ingredients for dipping sauce. When you go eat at a Vietnamese restaurant, you always see a small bottle of nuoc mam as part of the assemblage of soy sauce, chilies, salt and pepper. At home, a cup of fine nuoc mam with added slices of Thai hot chilies, either mixed or not, is always accompanied with any dishes served at the table. Without nuoc mam, Vietnamese food would be a lackluster.
Fish sauce is a liquid that results from salting and fermenting fish, and ancient and practical way of preserving seasonally abundant supplies of protein. To make it, fresh fish (usually anchovies, but other types of fish or shellfish may be used) are packed in layers of salt in large earthenware jugs, wooden casks, or concrete vats. Rocks and bamboo racks are placed on top to keep the fish from floating as their juices are drawn out during fermentation. Over months or even a year in hot and sunny place, the fish break down and turn into liquid. The extraction of the fluid is removed via a spigot at the bottom of the salting container, or by siphoning. The first extraction, called nuoc mam cot (or nuoc mam nhi) is the most prized and reserved for dipping sauces or special occasions. The get more use from the same fish, salted water is added to the container, and after a shorter second fermentation period,a lesser quality liquid is extracted for everyday use.
Keep in mind that today, it is virtually impossible to purchase pure nuoc mam cot. To keep the fish sauce competitively priced, producers dilute it with different extractions, added with water, salt and sugar to yield the desired flavor balance. When shopping for fine fish sauce, remember the following:
- Premium fish sauce is reddish brown and clear. Avoid dark, inky liquids that are overly salty and flat tasting. Good fish sauce is fragrant and pleasant tasting.
- Labels give you clues to quality. Cot, nhi, thuong hang signals a premium sauce made from the first extraction of the liquid. Fish sauce made from Ca Com, anchovies usually yields a prime quality.
- Price matters. The good ones typically come in glass bottles, rather than plastic and cost more. If you're completely loss, ask a fellow shopper at Vietnamese grocery stores or select a mid to high priced bottle.
The degree of salt in fish sauce varies from brand to brand. I personally recommend Viet Huong's Three Crabs or Flying Lion's Phu Quoc brands, which always deliver great flavor, aroma and color. At home, I exclusively use Viet Huong's Three Crabs fish sauce brand. It costs about $3.5 a bottle, and helps me make consistent and tasty food.
Fish sauce bottles are not sealed very well. Make sure you transport and store them upright to avoid spilling. You can store it in a cool spot.
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