Fish Sauce (Nước mắm)

Nước mắm / fish sauce Pronounced: nook mom

In Southeast Asia, particularly in Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Laos and the Philippines, fish sauce is no secret. In fact, it’s in practically everything, making it a rightful secret ingredient. Dipping sauces, curries, pho, ramen, stir-fry, you name it, it’s in it. Fish sauce adds a salty umami, savory flavor making your food taste more complex than without. It’s truly what makes the food. Pick up a bottle of Thai Kitchen Premium Fish Sauce. It’s one of the most popular brands you’ll find at your regular grocery store, and along with Red Boat 40°N it’s recommended by America’s Test Kitchen.

[FMM: Brands to buy: Red Boat (Vietnamese), Three Crab (Vietnamese), Flying Lion (Vietnamese), Tiparos (Thai), Golden Boy (Thai), Squid Premium (Thai)]

Fish Sauce, A Primer
from https://ourdailybrine.com/

Fish sauce is simple: Fish (usually anchovies) mixed with sea salt and fermented for a long period. The resulting liquid, fish sauce. It’s the backbone of Eastern Asian cuisine. The Thai call it nam pla, the Vietnamese, nuoc mam. In the Philippines it’s patis, Korea, aek jeot, and so on.

According to Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking, fish fermentation “arose several thousand years ago in the freshwaters of Southwest China and the Mekong River region. It then spread to coastal deltas and was applied to ocean fish.” McGee goes on to cite the origin of Asian fish sauces as garum, an ancient Roman sauce that “consists of the guts of fish and other parts that would otherwise be considered refuse, so the garum is really the liquor from putrefaction.”, according to the Roman historian, Pliny. It was said that the best garum was made only from mackerel and came from Roman outposts in Spain. As a liquid, it’s value was comparable to the finest perfumes.

Fish sauce is believed to be the precursor to soy sauce. McGee states that first foods fermented by the Chinese, fish and meats, were eventually replaced by soy beans in the 2nd century BCE.

Fish Sauce, the amber-colored umami Uzzi of Southeast Asian cuisine. We know the magic it holds, but which brand is the best? Is the Vietnamese nuoc mam really superior to Thailand’s nam pla? We tasted 13 different brands of fish sauce, all commercially available in the States. The best was clear and the loser stank.

The Baseline for Best

The goal of this tasting was to find the brand which possessed the best flavor. Our basis for the “best” tasting fish sauce was as follows:

The Winner - Red Boat 40°N — Phu Quoc, Vietnam — $6.95 (500 mL)

Summary: Red Boat 40°N just happened to be toward the end of all the different sauces we tasted (blind). We both immediately agreed that this was easily the best so far. The taste is fish and salt, with a slightly sweet finish. It was remarked “Now this is what fish sauce should taste like.” There’s currently a lot of buzz around Red Boat. I’ll admit, I was skeptical. In the end Red Boat was the clear winner. Red Boat was one of the first brands I’ve known to declare Degrees N. (40°N, 50°N, etc.). This is a standard to measure the number of grams of nitrogen per liter of fish sauce, which directly relates to the protein level. According to Red Boat “The highest quality fish sauces are greater than 30°N, with the flavor becoming more rich and complex with larger N designation.”

Salt Level: Medium-High; Ingredients: Anchovy, Sea Salt; Protein: 4g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Recommended

Red Boat 50°N is Red Boat’s premium brand, it’s what they refer to as their “Phamily Reserve.” It’s excellent, no doubt. But the flavor difference between 50°N and 40°N is minimal. When comparing the high-scoring finalists against each other, it was remarked that the most noticeable difference was that 50°N (identified later) was “a bit saltier”. It was easy to taste that these two were the same brand. While price seems to vary greatly, the 50°N is easily 10x the cost of 40°N. Is it worth that difference in price? We didn’t think so.
Salt Level: Medium-High; Ingredients: Anchovy, Sea Salt; Protein: 4g Protein per 1 Tbsp

New Town 60°N — Vietnam — $5.95 (500 mL)
Salt Level: Medium; Ingredients: Fish, Salt, Water; Protein: 1g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Recommended with Reservations - all contain additives

Shrimp & Crab — Thailand — $2.99 (725 mL)
Salt Level: High; Ingredients: Anchovy Extract, Water, Salt, Fructose, Hydrolysed Wheat Protein; Protein: 2g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Viet Huong Flying Lion — Hong Kong —$3.89 (750mL)
Salt Level: Medium; Ingredients: Anchovy Extract, Water, Salt, Fructose, Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein; Protein: 2g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Best Buy - Tiparos — Thailand — $1.49 (725 mL)

There are four major brands that are pervasive in the world of fish sauce: Tiparos, Three Crabs, Squid, and Golden Boy. Because these brands were so easily obtainable, it was important that they were included in our tasting.

At $1.49, Tiparos is easily the best buy. And aside from the addition of sugar, this does not contain the fructose and hydrolysed B.S. that you’ll find in most of the brands we tasted. With water as the first ingredient, it confirms our “not a lot to this, but not bad” perception; it’s certainly no where near as pure as Red Boat. If using as a part of a recipe, such as in a soup where it’s not the feature, you could use more to make up for it’s “weakness.” It’s likely that you will find Tiparos, alongside the other major brands like Golden Boy and Three Crabs, at most any place fish sauce is sold. And if faced with that choice Tiparos is easily the best buy—and the better sauce.
Salt Level: High; Ingredients: Water, Anchovy Extract, Salt, Sugar; Protein: 2g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Not Recommended

Flying Horse — Thailand — $1.29 (750 mL)
Salt Level: Medium; Ingredients: Water, Anchovy Extract, Salt, Sugar; Protein: 3g Protein per 1 Tbsp

MegaChef (30°N) — Thailand — $2.95 (700 mL)
Salt Level: Medium-High; Ingredients: Anchovy, Sea Salt, Sugar, Fructose; Protein: 3g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Huong Vi Viet Brand — Vietnam — $2.95 (750 mL)
Salt Level: Low; Ingredients: Anchovy Fish, Salt, Fructose, MSG, Caramel Color, Potassium Sorbate; Protein: 1g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Three Crabs, Squid, and Golden Boy were all rated at the bottom.

Golden Boy — Thailand — $2.49 (725 mL)
Salt Level: High; Ingredients: Anchovy Fish, Salt, Sugar; Protein: 2g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Three Crabs — Hong Kong/Thailand — $2.59 (300 mL)
Salt Level: Low; Ingredients: Anchovy Extract, Salt, Water, Fructose, Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein; Protein: 2g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Squid — Thailand — $1.49 (750 mL)
Salt Level: High; Ingredients: Fish, Salt, Water; Protein: 2g Protein per 1 Tbsp

A Whole Different League

Barrel-Aged Fish Sauce Blis Barrel-Aged Fish Sauce Blis — Phu Quoc, Vietnam / United States — $17.95 (200 mL)

It was agreed that this should not be considered among our tasting as it’s a whole different animal. The flavor is something totally different. Blis (I refuse to type “BLiS”) is a collaboration between Blis and Red Boat. They’ve simply taken Red Boat 40°N and aged it in charred barrels for 7 months. The result is pretty extraordinary. It’s rich, smoky and peaty—and when I say smoky, I mean smoke for days. Like drinking Laphroaig around a campfire while smoking a brisket. I’d use this like you would use Worcestershire sauce. I can see a barrel-aged fish sauce experiment of my own in the future.

Salt Level: Medium; Ingredients: Anchovy, Sea Salt; Protein: 3g Protein per 1 Tbsp

Fish Sauce (Nuoc Mam)
From The Classic Cuisine of Vietnam, Bach Ngo and Gloria Zimmerman, Barron’s, 1979

Fish sauce is to Vietnamese cooking what salt is to Western and soy sauce to Chinese cooking. It is included in practically all recipes.

Prepared from fresh anchovies and salt, layered in huge wooden barrels, the manufacture of fish sauce is a major industry. The factories are located along the coast to assure the freshness of the fish to be processed. Fermentation is started once a year, during the fishing season. After about 3 months in the barrel, liquid drips from an open spigot, to be poured back into the top of the barrel. After about 6 months the fish sauce is produced.

The first draining is the very best fish sauce, lighter in color and perfectly clear. [Kinda like “Extra Virgin” fish sauce. S.C.] It is relatively expensive and is reserved for table use. The second and third drainings yield a fish sauce of lower quality and lower cost for general- purpose cooking.

The two towns most noted for their fish sauce are Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet. Phu Quoc produces the best fish sauce, some of which is exported. On the label, the “nhi” signifies the highest quality. When fish sauce manufactured in Vietnam is not available, that of Thailand or Hong Kong is quite acceptable. Philippine or Chinese fish sauce will not be satisfactory.

For table use and available in all Oriental groceries is Squid Brand Fish Sauce, the best one on the market. Whatever brand, look for the “Ca Com” on the label, which means that only anchovies were used, an indication of the highest quality for table use.

From posts on sites such as Chowhound:

- Most Southeast Asian countries have their own version of fish sauce, although the Thai and Vietnamese varieties are the ones we tend to see on the shelves and use most often. While the process for making each one is similar, these two fish sauce varieties are set apart by their flavor and level of saltiness. Thai fish sauce tends to be saltier than the Vietnamese. Despite their slight differences in flavor, Thai and Vietnamese fish sauces can be used interchangeably without significantly affecting the outcome of a dish. It really comes down to personal preference.
- Three Crabs (Vietnamese)
- Golden Boy (Thai) is the best. Briny and salty, without the intense rotten-fish smell that cheap fish sauce has.
- Squid (Thai) - I used Squid for years, and it was pretty good too, but Golden Boy is better.
- I have to concur w/ the Golden Boy, or Tra Chang. I used to use Squid Brand, but found it to be strong/less refined than the others.

Thai Fish Sauce (nam pla) - Tiparos brand

- Thai fish sauce is amber in color, and is known for having a saltier and more pungent flavor than its Vietnamese counterpart. It's typically produced using small ocean fish, namely anchovies, and salt and fermented over a period of time. But depending on the brand, it may also include sardines, mackerel, herring, or carp, as well as other ingredients like sugar or preservatives. Popular brands of Thai fish sauce include Golden Boy, MegaChef, and Squid.
- Tiparos. When I was stationed in Thailand serving in the Air Force the most popular brand by far, in fact I don't remember seeing any other brand on a table in a restaurant or street cart than Tiparos. I'm not going to date myself suffice to say that was many many years ago. Tiparos is top quality and was literally the first brand to make it to most people's kitchen (when they stopped making it themselves). From what I understand it is still very popular. You can probably pay more for other pricy fancy labled & bottled brands that have become popular here in the U. S. but for me, I wouldn't bother. Just like Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce which has brands that try to copy it to the point of bottling and labling it to look like Sriracha, so does Tiparos. My feeling is don't mess with tradition. Especially when it comes to Thai food.
- Tiparos is described as a "Thai style" fish sauce, with a different and bolder flavor than Vietnamese styles.

Vietnamese Fish Sauce (nuoc mam) - Three Crabs or Flying Lion brands

- Although still salty, nuoc mam, or Vietnamese fish sauce, has a lighter taste than its Thai counterpart. The best-quality nuoc mam is made with two ingredients: anchovies and salt. However, as with Thai fish sauce, this can vary between brands, and some may include other types of fish or additives, like sugar or preservatives. Arguably the best Vietnamese fish sauce comes from Phu Quoc, an island off the southwest coast of Vietnam. The coastal waters are home to ca com, a variety of anchovy that makes for a delicately flavored, well-balanced fish sauce.
- Popular brands of Vietnamese fish sauce include Red Boat and 3 Crabs.

- from https://www.vietworldkitchen.com/ - "Start with good quality Vietnamese fish sauce (nuoc mam). How do you judge fish sauce? Look for a light amber color and the words nhi or thuong hang on the label. These terms indicate that the condiment came from the first extraction of liquid from the fermented fish, and is of the highest quality. Grades of fish sauces are similar to that of olive oils. That is, extra virgin olive oil is more flavorful and costlier than virgin olive oil. This same rule applies to judging different fish sauces.
Also keep in mind that fish sauce is also used in Thai and Filipino cooking, where it tends to be saltier and heavier in flavor. So, even though Thailand produces most of the fish sauce sold in the U.S., you need to make sure that the condiment you’re buying is made in the ‘Vietnamese’ style. How to do this? Look for Vietnamese lettering alongside the Thai script. Sometimes, the terms Phu Quoc and Phan Thiet are included on the label to signal a connection with these two famous fish sauce-producing areas in Vietnam. If ca com is one of the ingredients, that's an indication that the end product was made from a high quality anchovy native to the waters surrounding the island of Phu Quoc.
Though I like Viet Huong’s "Three Crab" brand for its consistently delicate flavor, aroma and color, I often try newer brands. Please note that Three Crabs and Flying Lion are both made by Viet Huong. The former is lighter in flavor than the latter, according to the Chung family that produces it. If they're not available, use Tiparos Thai Fish Sauce or Thai Kitchen. "

To Make Your Own Fish Sauce, if necessary (from Cook's Thesaurus)

Simmer for 10 minutes: 1 can drained anchovies + 2 cloves bruised and peeled garlic + ½ teaspoon brown sugar + ¼ teaspoon salt + 1 ¼ cups water, then strain. (Adapted from a recipe in the All Around the World Cookbook by Sheila Lukins.

OR simmer for 10 minutes: 1 part soy sauce + 4 parts anchovies  (Adapted from a recipe in Substituting Ingredients by Becky Sue Epstein and Hilary Dole Klein. 

OR soak anchovies from one small can (about 14 fillets) in 1 C water, strain, then add 2 tablespoons soy sauce.