If there is one ingredient linking southeastern Asian cuisines, it is probably that fermented, smelly, salty, amber-colored substance known as fish sauce. Whether it is Vietnamese nuoc mam, Thai nam pla, Philippine patis, or the thicker Laotian padaek, fish sauce is key to Asian cooking. Consider that, in Vietnam alone, 95 percent of households use fish sauce regularly. I'm most familiar with Vietnamese cuisine, which I've spent much time trying to learn, and it's pretty difficult to think of a dish I've had recently that hasn't needed a glug or two of nuoc mam.
It's funny, my SO is Vietnamese, and he despises the stuff. I've asked him how he deals with the constant presence of fish sauce in the food he eats, and while he acknowledges the ubiquity of nuoc mam, he prefers to avoid watching the food preparation--and as long as his food isn't overly fishy or briny, he can pretend it's not there. Meanwhile, I can scarcely resist taking the occasional sip out of the bottle when I'm cooking (gross, I know--I think my BF and I fall on opposite extremes). And it's not only key in Vietnamese cooking. If you like that melody of sweet, spicy, and salty found in many Thai foods such as tom yum or tom kha gai, you have nam pla to thank.
Perhaps it's best to start with fish sauce basics. What is fish sauce? Essentially, fish fermented with salt. Appetizing, no? From the vats of fermented fish (often anchovies, and they're fermented for a year or more), the familiar amber-colored liquid is extracted and filtered several times before bottling. The result is a very salty, pure sauce useful in cooking, as a condiment, as a base for dipping sauces, and more. If you want to see this process in action, here is an entertaining video about the production of Thai nam pla:
And another depicting Vietnamese nuoc mam production in Vietnam's Quang Tri Province:
Now, I've introduced this subject in the context of Asian cuisines, but you may or may not know that fish sauce has a very long history in the western world, extending back to the Roman Empire. In fact, the Roman version, called garum, was a vital part of Roman cuisine and popular throughout the empire, dating back to the 4th century B.C.E. and even earlier. It was made much like Asian fish sauces are produced today, layering fish and salt and allowing it to ferment. The salt content, in general, was lower than that in fish sauces today, accounting for only about 15 percent (as opposed to 50 percent today), making the final product more of a source of protein. Archaeologists have found remains of sophisticated garum factories from Spain to northern Africa. And much like wine, a high-quality bottle of the stuff could cost up to $500 in today's money. From an NPR piece on garum:
Like Asian fish sauces, the Roman version was made by layering fish and salt until it ferments. There are versions made with whole fish, and some with just the blood and guts. Some food historians argue that "garum" referred to one version, and "liquamen" another, while others maintain different terms were popular in different times and places. The current convention is to use garum as a common term for all ancient fish sauces.
Italian archaeologist Claudio Giardino studies the early roots of garum, the Roman version of fish sauce. He cites mention of garum in Roman literature from the 3rd and 4th century B.C., and remains of factories producing garum even earlier. The fish bones remaining at a garum factory in Pompeii even led to a more precise dating of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
[...]
And this fish sauce became an integral part of Roman cuisine. Food historian Sally Grainger has recreated recipes from antiquity that used garum both as a general salt substitute and as the basis of dips and sauces. "After the fish sauce is made, it was then turned into compound sauces — with honey, with wine, with vinegar, with other herbs, with oil."
What happened to
garum? Well, according to the aforementioned archaeologist Claudio Giardino, the demise of the product resulted from the increase in taxes on salt after the Roman Empire's collapse. This, combined with the destruction of coastal industries by pirates, marked the end of the Roman fish sauce as a cuisine staple. But, of course, the western world has not been lacking in fermented fish products since. Worcestershire sauce, made with fermented anchovies, comes to mind.
But today, fish sauce is especially prevalent in southeastern Asian cuisines. Whether it is used in cooking or dressing a salad or accompanying a dish as part of a dipping sauce, you just can't get away from it if you're a lover of Asian foods. Which is fine with me. I really love my nuoc mam, and my preferred brand is Three Crabs Brand, produced by Viet Huong:
There are other good brands as well. Buying fish sauce is not a time to be cheap. I skimp on many things for the sake of saving a buck, but fish sauce is absolutely not one of them.
I can't tell you (or my doctor) how many bottles I've gone through, but let's just say fish sauce is a regular part of my cooking. And not just when I'm making Vietnamese dishes. I've been known to use my nuoc mam in a variety of western dishes to give them that umami they're crying out for. Marinara sauce? You'd better believe I add a glug or two of fish sauce as a salt substitute. In fact, anything tomato-based just loves that fish sauce addition. I even added some to my white chili last week. You might be surprised by the versatility of this ingredient.
If you've been convinced to go get a bottle, here are some recipes prominently using fish sauce. I'll start very simple, with one of my favorite Vietnamese recipes, trung xao ca chua (eggs scrambled with tomatoes). Featuring, you guessed it, fish sauce. This is typically eaten for lunch with a baguette, but I normally eat it for breakfast. You know, eggs and all. I just made this, so you get a pic:
Ingredients
3 large or extra-large eggs
3 healthy shots of fish sauce
1/8 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground preferred
1 small green onion, green part only, cut into thin rings (optional)
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
1 medium shallot or 1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1 ripe Roma tomato, seeded and cut into thumbnail-size pieces
Instructions
1. In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, fish sauce, and pepper. You should be able to smell the brininess of the fish sauce. Otherwise, add a little more. Add the scallion and set aside near the stove.
2. Heat the oil in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the shallot and gently saute for 4 to 5 minutes, until soft and fragrant. Add the tomato and cook, stirring, until heated through and slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
3. Lower the heat to medium-low, pour in the egg mixture. Keep the bowl nearby. Gently stir and fold to scramble the ingredients. When done, remove from the heat and drizzle on the egg leftover in the bowl. Divide between two plates and serve with baguette.
Of course, a great way to use fish sauce is in stir-fry dishes such as fried rice instead of the more typically used soy sauce. You know all about fried rice. How about some
fried quinoa?
INGREDIENTS:
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 eggs
1 cup diced ham
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup frozen peas
2 cups cooked, chilled quinoa (about 1/2 cup raw)
1 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
freshly ground black pepper
DIRECTIONS:
1. Heat a wok or large saute pan over high heat. When hot, swirl in the oil. Add in the eggs and scramble for 15 seconds. Once the eggs have just set, remove the eggs to a clean plate or bowl.
2. Return wok to stove and turn to medium-high heat. Add in the diced ham and cook for 2 minutes until warmed through and browned. Push the ham to one side of the wok to leave room to fry the next ingredients. Add a bit of cooking oil if necessary. Add in the green onion, ginger and garlic, stir fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Mix in with the ham.
3. Add in the cooked eggs, frozen peas and quinoa. Toss and stir fry for 2 minutes, spreading everything out over the surface of the wok. Pour in the soy sauce, fish sauce and add in the black pepper. Toss again and stir fry for an additional minute. Taste and add in additional soy sauce or fish sauce if needed (remember that the ham is salty so make sure you grab a bite that includes ham.)
One of my favorite things to get at Thai restaurants is the
crying tiger, a Thai-style grilled steak salad served with a
nam pla-based
dipping sauce. First, the steak:
Ingredients
4 rib eye or New York strip steaks, about 1 1/2-inches thick (about 12 ounces each)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light or dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon plain vegetable oil
One recipe of Jaew (see related recipe here)
2 plum tomatoes
Procedures
1. Mix together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and vegetable oil in a medium mixing bowl. Coat the steaks with the soy sauce mixture and let them marinate while you work on the dipping sauce. (See related recipe here).
2. Peel and deseed the tomatoes. Chop the pulp finely, and add it to prepared dried chili dipping sauce (Jaew); set aside.
3. Light one chimney full of charcoal. When all the charcoal is lit and covered with gray ash, pour out and spread the coals evenly over entire surface of coal grate. Set cooking grate in place, cover gill and allow to preheat for 5 minutes. Alternatively, set all the burners on a gas grill to high heat. Clean and oil the grilling grate.
4. Grill the steaks, turning frequently, until desired doneness is reached (medium-rare is recommended—steaks should register 125°F on an instant read thermometer when removed from grill). Remove from grill and let rest for 5 minutes. (See the importance of resting meat).
5. Cut the steaks into 1/4-inch slices and serve with the dipping sauce. Warm sticky rice on the side is highly recommended.
And the dipping sauce:
Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh juice from 6 to 10 limes
1/2 cup Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons finely-chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons finely-chopped green onions
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted rice powder (see note above)
1 tablespoon dried red pepper powder
Procedures
1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix. Serve.
As I said above, I love adding fish sauce to tomato-based sauces.
This is the red sauce recipe that got me started down that road. And hey, why not? It's not abnormal to add anchovy filets to tomato sauce, after all.
Ingredients
4 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, preferably imported D.O.P. San Marzano tomatoes
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for finishing.
4 tablespoons butter
8 cloves garlic, minced (about 3 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 medium carrot, cut into large chunks
1 medium onion, split in half
1 large stem fresh basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon fish sauce (optional)
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley or basil leaves (or a mix of the two)
Procedures
1. Adjust oven rack to lower position and preheat oven to 300°F. Place tomatoes in a large bowl. Using your hands, crush the tomatoes by squeezing them in your fingers until pieces no larger than 1/2-inch remain. Transfer 3 cups of crushed tomatoes to a sealed container and reserve in the refrigerator until step 4.
2. Heat olive oil and butter over medium heat in a large Dutch oven until butter is melted. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until softened and fragrant but not browned, about 2 minutes. Add pepper flakes and oregano and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, carrot, onion, and basil, and stir to combine. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over high heat.
3. Cover Dutch oven with lid slightly ajar and transfer to oven. Cook, stirring once every 1 to 2 hours, until reduced by about half and darkened to a deep red, 5 to 6 hours (reduce oven temperature if the sauce is bubbling too rapidly or the browned bits begin to turn too dark).
4. Remove from oven. Using tongs, discard onion halves, carrots, and basil stems. Add reserved tomatoes to sauce and stir to combine. Add fish sauce, if using. Season generously with salt and pepper and stir in minced herbs along with additional olive oil as desired. Serve immediately, or allow to cool at room temperature, transfer to airtight containers, and refrigerate for up to 1 week. Sauce can also be frozen in sealed containers for up to 6 months. To reheat, warm very gently in a saucepan with 1/2 cup water, stirring until it all melts and heats through.
Going back to Thai food, who could resist a bowl of
tom kha gai?
Ingredients
20 ounces chicken stock
2-inch piece of galangal, peeled, half cut into slices, half cut into matchsticks
2 stalks lemongrass, ends trimmed, tough outer leaves removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 Kaffir lime leaves, crumpled by hand
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thinly against the grain
1/2 pound mushrooms (straw mushrooms if possible, but otherwise cremini or button), ends removed, sliced
1 tablespoon fish sauce, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lime, plus more for serving
4 hot red chilis (such as Thai bird) ends trimmed, smashed with a knife
Handful fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
Procedures
1. Combine stock, galangal, lemongrass, and lime leaf in a medium saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, and then reduce heat to maintain a simmer for 10 minutes. Discard the galangal and lemongrass.
2. Add the coconut milk and increase heat to medium. Add chicken, mushrooms, galangal matchsticks, and Kaffir lime leaves, and cook until the chicken is completely cooked and the mushrooms are tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Add the fish sauce, lime juice, and red chiles. Remove from heat. Divide the soup between four bowls, making sure each has a red chile. Garnish with cilantro. Adjust flavor with more lime juice and fish sauce as necessary.
There are endless, borderless possibilities with fish sauce. What are
you having for dinner tonight?