Fish sauce

wendalls, Apr 22, 5:32am
Can anyone recommend a good brand? I tried a recipe off tv the other day which used a lot of it ( I should have changed the tablespoons to teaspoon ) and the meal - fish cakes was inedible.
awoftam, Apr 22, 6:13am
I use golden sun. Works for me.
beaker59, Apr 22, 6:57am
I use golden boy brand, start using it very sparingly until you get a taste for it ;) we love it here.
lenart, Apr 22, 7:16am
This article might be helpful:
https://ourdailybrine.com/fish-sauce-taste-test/
davidt4, Apr 22, 7:21am
I like Tiparos and Megachef. We love it and I use it a lot, in European savoury dishes as well as in South East Asian ones.

As beaker says, add it carefully to begin with, and make sure that you balance the flavours between salty, sour, sweet and hot.
davidt4, Apr 22, 7:26am
Thanks for that link, a really interesting article. I believe Red Boat is available in NZ at a high price, I'll look for it. BLis sounds wonderful!
awoftam, Apr 22, 7:36am
Red Boat - sounds expensive however doesn't look like you'll need to use a lot given its purity. I am going to buy some from here:

http://foodcompass.co.nz/product/red-boat-fish-sauce-500ml/?gclid=Cj0KEQjw6tepBRDLqLnxouaY_pkBEiQAPIOiBtOkeaW1zlQh869CMi3krscIbkaHT9FtVr7cHa1cBn4aAsx78P8HAQ

Checked online can buy same bottle direct for 10-00 however there is a 50-00 shipping fee lol. in saying that the importer here won't be paying anywhere near that rate. Rip off.
davidt4, Apr 22, 9:15am
Here's another distributor, slightly cheaper but sold out.

http://www.vietnamesecoffee.co.nz/red-boat-fish-sauce-500ml/

Edited to add - the 250 ml bottles are in stock. My goodness it's expensive.
wendalls, Apr 23, 10:07am
Thanks. Very interesting! Mine was "poonsin" made in Thailand and only had added sugar. It was the saltiness which made my meal inedible so I'm wondering if either me or Gordon Ramsay got our measurements wrong.
davidt4, Apr 23, 8:12pm
Aah. Now it makes sense. Recipes from Gordon Ramsay books are not reliable, they don't seem to be tested and the quantities can be wrong.

I had an embarrassing failure once with a dessert from one of his books, went searching for advice on the Internet and discovered that lots of people were complaining about inaccuracies.

With recipes for Asian food it is usually best to follow advice from a writer who is familiar with the cuisine. The only European writers I trust for Asian food are David Thompson, Stephanie Alexander and Ray McVinnie.
raloki, Apr 23, 8:50pm
Thanks for that article. I have come across a few recipes in older cookbooks calling for anchovy essence, and reading what is in a good fish sauce I think I could probably substitute that for the anchovy essence, of which only a little bit is needed.
wendalls, Apr 27, 8:18pm
Thanks David t4, that is certainly good to know! although he was doing it in front of me on a tv show. Maybe his idea of a tablespoonis more like a teaspoon, as he splashes it in.
beaker59, Apr 28, 11:14pm
I think with Fish Sauce as its quite strong and an acquired taste you should add slowly and taste as you go, don't start at the full recommended level. In the beginning I used drops and slowly over the years increased as the family got used to it, now we get through quite a bit at times. Same with prawn paste, chilli, garlic and ginger. Tastes worth developing though as they are spectacular flavours when balanced just right.
davidt4, Sep 5, 10:54am
Exactly. It's the balancing that makes the difference, and you have to taste every time because limes and chillis vary in flavour.