Recipe Courtesy of Williams-Sonoma. Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, “Asian”, by Farina Wong Kingsley (Simon & Schuster, 2003).
Called “nuoc mam” in Vietnam and “nam pla” in Thailand, fish sauce is a salty and pungent seasoning used throughout Southeast Asia. The amber liquid is the filtered extract of small fish (typically anchovies), salt and water left to ferment in the sun. The resulting sharp taste and acrid aroma mellow with cooking. Fish sauces vary in character. Thai fish sauce, for example, tends to be paler and milder than Vietnamese fish sauce. Both are an essential seasoning in countless dishes, such as this Thai salad, and as a base for dipping sauces.