OmManiPadmeOmelet wrote:

> In article . com>,
> "aem" > wrote:
>
> > Joseph Littleshoes wrote:
> > > [snip]
> > > IMO the problem with most sea food is that it has too 'fishy' a
> taste
> > > which i don't really like. But it can be a wonderful
> accompaniment to
> > > other flavours. If i used more fish i would keep a fish stock
> going,
> > > but i use so little fresh fish or sea food that a bit of anchovy
> is
> > > almost as good as a fresh fish stock. for flavouring.
> > > ---
> > For when you're out of anchovies, keep a bottle of nuoc mam,
> Vietnamese
> > fish sauce, in the cupboard. It's mostly anchovies. -aem
> >
>
> Is it easy to get at Oriental markets?



That's part of my problem, there are so many brands in the Asian markets
around here that even when i have asked and been recommended one brand
over another i still haven't found a version i like. Partly this is my
lack of experience with the originating cuisine.

I am adept at using a fish stock for sauces or poaching, braising or
soups & stews but just do not have enough knowledge or experience with
those Asian cuisine's that routinely use the fish sauces. Plus, i think
it may be an 'acquired taste' if raised on the stuff one probly develops
a liking for it.

I just wish the little old Asian lady next door spoke better english.
she makes the most delicious fish soups but her ability to explain them
in English, while better than my ability to explain anything in Chinese
is still, so limited that she don't like to even try to explain, her
daughter, who is fluent in both languages has told me she keeps no
written recipes, its all in her memory, what she learned from her mother
teaching her to cook. Her daughter even suggested that there is a
certain pride in having her 'secret ingredients' and keeping them
secret.
---
JL

> --
> Om.
>
> "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a son-of-a-bitch." -Jack
> Nicholson