Ingredient Spotlight: Nuoc Mam
Let’s talk about fish sauce! My bottle of nuoc mam is almost finished so I’ll be shopping for a new one. I like Three Crabs and Squid but perhaps I’ll try something else this time. I’ve always loved fish sauce in its myriad forms. Of course my favorite is the Philippines’ patis.
But let’s talk about the Vietnamese product, nuoc mam for a bit. Nuoc mam is made by layering the fish (usually anchovies, and in Phu Quoc, only long-jawed anchovies) with salt in tall vats. The layers are allowed to ferment for three months, then the juice is tapped and poured back on top of the fish. After another month, the juice is tapped once again — this is known as the first pressing and is most prized. Most people I’ve talked to say Vietnam makes the best fish sauce, particularly Phu Quoc Island, off the Vietnam/Cambodia border. If you’re looking for the real thing, make sure your bottle says that it’s made in Vietnam. Unscrupulous manufacturers not even from the area — or the country — took advantage of the Phu Quoc recognition and started slapping “Phu Quoc” on the label. This is the reason for the Phu Quoc nuoc mam appellation (yup, kinda like Champagne has to be made in Champagne!), a certification that was granted in 2001 — only products made in the area have a right to use the name.
Choosing a good Vietnamese fish sauce is not as difficult as choosing soy sauce, for instance, because it’s one of those things where price would be your best guide. The more expensive Vietnamese fish sauces tend to be better. The color should be a lovely clear amber. I don’t subscribe however to the idea of using just one “best” fish sauce for everything. For Thai dishes I still prefer the widely-known Thai-produced Tiparos. And I won’t have any other fish sauce but Philippine-made for my tinola. But a bowl of pho on a rainy evening? It definitely calls for Vietnam’s best brands. We are getting lucky that there are a greater number of choices now in our Asian stores than there were 15 years ago. Look for the word “nhi” on the label, which tells you that it’s from the first-pressing. This is the fish sauce of choice when adjusting seasoning at the table or anytime it’s used fresh, i.e., in dipping sauces. For cooking, you can use the lower-grade (read less expensive) sauces.
The good news is that fish sauce is now a widely-accepted seasoning in the Western world. Whereas a decade or two ago, these were simply written off as “stinky” and “repulsive”, people are now attuned to the unique subtleties it contributes to a dish. The bad news is that demand for fish sauce has changed the way the anchovies are harvested for manufacture, with some fishermen resorting to unacceptable practices such as dynamite fishing.
For those interested in trivia, and in case you didn’t know, fish sauce isn’t an Asian exclusive. From On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee:
Asian fermented fish pastes and sauces are vital manifestations of a preparation that has mostly disappeared in Europe but was once well known as garum or liquamen, the fish sauce of Rome.
Apicius (don’t ask me which of the three) wrote about this fish sauce being mixed with a variety of herbs to make something called ius, the precursor of our modern “juice”.
And of course, anchovies are still very much loved in Italy and other parts of Europe. Salt-packed and oil-packed anchovies make an appearance in many an Italian dish. Salt-packed anchovies, particularly, are difficult to find here in the US, though if you have an Italian market in your area you may be able to persuade the owner to carry some if he doesn’t already. I am tempted to try making my own fish sauce, if I could just have access to some fresh anchovies. Though I have to confess that when I’m making an Italian dish and run out of anchovies, I reach for my bottle of Asian fish sauce to give it that nice, salty kick. When you think about it, that’s not unforgivable, is it?
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Ingredient Spotlight, Vietnamese
0 opinions for Ingredient Spotlight: Nuoc Mam
No one has left a comment yet. You know what this means, right? You could be first!
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: