Can someone recommend very good quality fish sauce for me? I live in
an area with many Asian markets or if you have online site to purchase
that will be great too. Thank you.

Nona

Hello, Rinshinomori!
You wrote on 7 Aug 2006 14:33:51 -0700:

R> Can someone recommend very good quality fish sauce for me?
R> I live in an area with many Asian markets or if you have
R> online site to purchase that will be great too. Thank you.

R> Nona

I like the Golden Boy brand of Nouc Mam and it looks much better
than the cloudy cheaper varieties.

James Silverton.
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 18:11:53 -0400, "James Silverton"
<not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not> wrote:

>I like the Golden Boy brand of Nouc Mam and it looks much better
>than the cloudy cheaper varieties.
>
>James Silverton.
>Potomac, Maryland
>
Thanks for this information. I will check this brand out as well as
the one recommended by n-cramer. BTW, I understand that Maryland
(Gaithersburg) now has a very large Korean market and also a sizeable
Asian population too according to my brother who just moved to
Maryland.

Nona

On 07 Aug 2006 22:54:27 GMT, wrote:


>My Thai wife and kids tend to buy the Lucky Brand of Fish Sauce (Thai Nam
>Plah).

Thank you for this recommendation. I will check this brand out.
Being married a Thai wife must mean plenty of good Thai food. Thai
food has become one of my favorite Asian food to eat - however, I am
still not knowledgeable enough to cook Thai yet.

Nona

Steve Wertz wrote:

> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.


Why not?

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 01:50:09 GMT, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

>
>Three Crabs Brand
>(http://www.ipcsupplies.com/popup_image.php?pID=852)
>
>Anything designated "Phu Quoc".
>
>Fish sauce lasts for quite a while and it's cheap. It's worth it
>to spend the extra $1.50 on a bottle of good sauce (~$3.50).
>Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
>

Ok, thank you for this recommendation. I now have three brands to
check out, ie Golden Boy brand of Nouc Mam, Lucky Brand, and Three
Crabs. How would you taste test fish sauce? I mean, for olive oil,
with a piece of baguette, soy sauce by simply sipping noting
difference nuances, etc. I would think sipping fish sauce is too
fishy tasting (I don't know since I never tasted it by itself).

Nona

In article >, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

> Fish sauce lasts for quite a while and it's cheap.

Hmm. Most of the time I eat fish sauce it's in a Vietnamese restaurant
since I live minutes from "Little Saigon" in Westminster, CA. I do
have a big, more costly brand of same in my pantry though (glass
bottle). How long do you figure an open, unrefrigerated bottle of fish
sauce would last? It never occured to me that it wouldn't make it into
the next ice age...

--
Thank you and have a nice day.

Steve Wertz wrote:
> On 7 Aug 2006 14:33:51 -0700, Rinshinomori wrote:
>
>
>>Can someone recommend very good quality fish sauce for me? I live in
>>an area with many Asian markets or if you have online site to purchase
>>that will be great too. Thank you.
>
>
> Three Crabs Brand
> (http://www.ipcsupplies.com/popup_image.php?pID=852)
>
> Anything designated "Phu Quoc".
>
> Fish sauce lasts for quite a while and it's cheap. It's worth it
> to spend the extra $1.50 on a bottle of good sauce (~$3.50).
> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
>
> -sw


listen to this man, SW! i've been using VN fish
sauce from Phu Quoc only in the last 5 years or so.
the bottle isn't big, probably .5L and it costs
even more than most other brands [1L bottles] from
VN and other countries. i just like the taste and
smell of VN fish sauce, the same way i like Japanese
shoyu more than all Chinese soy sauces.

besides, i had the most fantastic 8 days on Phu
Quoc island. didn't even know about the tsunami
while sunbathing on an empty beach every day! a
shame that this place is so eager to ruin itself the
way Koh Samui did.

Hello, Steve!
You wrote on Tue, 08 Aug 2006 03:00:28 GMT:

??>> Steve Wertz wrote:
??>>
??>>> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
??>>
??>> Why not?

SW> Because most plastic is slightly porous. Some of those
SW> bottles have been through hell and back before they hit the
SW> shelves, often for another, long rest.

SW> Although its already spoiled, if it sits in plastic too
SW> long it will spoil in a different way. I've seen some
SW> really old fish sauce in plastic bottles at some stores.
SW> It's not a pretty sight - dark and cloudy.

SW> The fact that it's in plastic bottles to begin with is a
SW> bad sign already, fresh or not.

My favorite, Golden Boy, comes in small glass bottles. It seems
to keep a very long time in the refrigerator but the originally
light colored sauce does darken with time. I don't think I could
bring myself to test it by direct tasting since I don't really
like the taste of old fish and, by itself, the sauce is
overpowering. I think a possible way to try out the sauces would
be to see how they tasted in a dipping sauce like Nuoc Cham
where the fish sauce is diluted with lime juice and flavored
with sugar, garlic, vinegar and hot chillies.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

On 07 Aug 2006 22:54:27 GMT, wrote:

>"Rinshinomori" > wrote:
>> Can someone recommend very good quality fish sauce for me? I live in
>> an area with many Asian markets or if you have online site to purchase
>> that will be great too. Thank you.
>
>My Thai wife and kids tend to buy the Lucky Brand of Fish Sauce (Thai Nam
>Plah).

My (Thai) wife prefers Tiparos while I sort of like Squid Brand. I'd
suggest you take my wife's opinion ahead of mine (and look for it in a
glass bottle rather than the plastic).

- J. Frawley

Steve Wertz wrote:

> On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 19:46:30 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
>
>> Steve Wertz wrote:
>>
>>> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
>>
>> Why not?
>
> Because most plastic is slightly porous. Some of those bottles
> have been through hell and back before they hit the shelves,
> often for another, long rest.
>
> Although its already spoiled, if it sits in plastic too long it
> will spoil in a different way. I've seen some really old fish
> sauce in plastic bottles at some stores. It's not a pretty sight
> - dark and cloudy.
>
> The fact that it's in plastic bottles to begin with is a bad sign
> already, fresh or not.


Thanks, interesting. But why do you say this about fish sauce in particular?
Wouldn't the same hold true for almost anything bottled in plastic--soy
sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc.?

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Hello, Ken!
You wrote on Tue, 8 Aug 2006 07:48:52 -0700:

??>> On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 19:46:30 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
??>>
??>>> Steve Wertz wrote:
??>>>
??>>>> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
??>>>
??>>> Why not?
??>>
??>> Because most plastic is slightly porous. Some of those
??>> bottles have been through hell and back before they hit
??>> the shelves, often for another, long rest.
??>>
??>> Although its already spoiled, if it sits in plastic too
??>> long it will spoil in a different way. I've seen some
??>> really old fish sauce in plastic bottles at some stores.
??>> It's not a pretty sight - dark and cloudy.
??>>
??>> The fact that it's in plastic bottles to begin with is a
??>> bad sign already, fresh or not.

KB> Thanks, interesting. But why do you say this about fish
KB> sauce in particular? Wouldn't the same hold true for almost
KB> anything bottled in plastic--soy sauce, ketchup, mustard,
KB> mayonnaise, etc.?

I've not noticed any problems with the use of plastic, perhaps
because I tend to use ketchup etc. faster than fish sauce. I
tend to buy soy sauce in bulk: a gallon metal can, believe it or
not! With oriental condiments, I have found that it's sometimes
the cheaper and inferior varieties that are packaged in plastic.
However, Hoisin sauce bought in a squeeze bottle is a great
convenience and comments about quality don't seem to apply.
Wasabi in a tube is perhaps not as good as freshly prepared but
is very useful as are, getting away from oriental cusine, tomato
and anchovy pastes.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

James Silverton wrote:

> Hello, Ken!
> You wrote on Tue, 8 Aug 2006 07:48:52 -0700:
>
>>> On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 19:46:30 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
>>>
>>>> Steve Wertz wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
>>>>
>>>> Why not?
>>>
>>> Because most plastic is slightly porous. Some of those
>>> bottles have been through hell and back before they hit
>>> the shelves, often for another, long rest.
>>>
>>> Although its already spoiled, if it sits in plastic too
>>> long it will spoil in a different way. I've seen some
>>> really old fish sauce in plastic bottles at some stores.
>>> It's not a pretty sight - dark and cloudy.
>>>
>>> The fact that it's in plastic bottles to begin with is a
>>> bad sign already, fresh or not.
>
>> Thanks, interesting. But why do you say this about fish
>> sauce in particular? Wouldn't the same hold true for almost
>> anything bottled in plastic--soy sauce, ketchup, mustard,
>> mayonnaise, etc.?
>
> I've not noticed any problems with the use of plastic,


I haven't either, which is why I asked.


> perhaps
> because I tend to use ketchup etc. faster than fish sauce.


So you're saying that it's not plastic per se that's a problem, but a
combination of plastic and long periods of storage. I guess that makes
sense.


> I
> tend to buy soy sauce in bulk: a gallon metal can, believe it or
> not!


I readily believe it, since I do the same thing.


> With oriental condiments, I have found that it's sometimes
> the cheaper and inferior varieties that are packaged in plastic.


That makes sense too, and it's pehaps another reason to avoid plastic.


> However, Hoisin sauce bought in a squeeze bottle is a great
> convenience and comments about quality don't seem to apply.


For anything that you need small amounts of at a time, a squeeze bottle is a
great convenience. I wish more things came that way.


> Wasabi in a tube is perhaps not as good as freshly prepared but


No, it isn't even real wasabi.


> is very useful as are,


Yes.


> getting away from oriental cusine, tomato
> and anchovy pastes.


I've never used tomato paste in a tube, only because, convenient as it may
be, it's so expensive that it's cheaper to buy a little can and just throw
the rest away.


--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

Steve Wertz wrote:

> On Tue, 8 Aug 2006 07:48:52 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
>
>> Thanks, interesting. But why do you say this about fish sauce in
>> particular? Wouldn't the same hold true for almost anything bottled
>> in plastic--soy sauce, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, etc.?
>
> Ketchup, mustard, and mayo have a pretty quick turnover on US
> grocery store shelves. Fish sauce doesn't move that quick. It
> comes a long way under sometimes severe conditions.


Yes, as I just said in another message in this thread--the issue appears to
be, not just plastic, but a combination of plastic and losng storage.


> Notice that restaurants always use glass bottles for their
> table-top ketchups.


That used to be true, but not any more in my experience. These days I hardly
ever see anything but plastic.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup


> Contrary to popular belief, they are not
> refilled (at least not at respectable joints - sometimes they may
> be "consolidated" though). Plastic bottles + no refrigeration
> cuts down on the ideal conditions for ketchup if not used quickly.
> Restaurants often don't rotate their stocks of dry goods, too.
>
> And for the same reason you don't see very many fish sauces in
> plastic, you don't see soy sauce in plastic either. I'd bet the
> salt content of each of those products isn't exactly beneficial to
> plastic..
>
> -sw

In article >, Ken Blake
> wrote:

> > Notice that restaurants always use glass bottles for their
> > table-top ketchups.
>
> That used to be true, but not any more in my experience. These days I hardly
> ever see anything but plastic.

True but they are also pretty rapidly emptied and refilled.

--
Thank you and have a nice day.

In article >, Steve Wertz
> wrote:

> On Tue, 08 Aug 2006 13:27:32 -0700, gtr wrote:
>
> > In article >, Ken Blake
> > > wrote:
> >
> >>> Notice that restaurants always use glass bottles for their
> >>> table-top ketchups.
> >>
> >> That used to be true, but not any more in my experience. These days I
> >> hardly
> >> ever see anything but plastic.
> >
> > True but they are also pretty rapidly emptied and refilled.
>
> I do remember seeing a plastic one recently. It was designed so
> that it couldn't be refilled (or tampered with easily, is my
> guess).

It's been a long time since I studied a ketchup bottle but I remember
seeing them long ago where they all said "not for refill". Why, I
don't know. Since then, many is the time I've seen two bottles stacked
neck-to-neck draining one typhoid bazaar into the next.

--
Thank you and have a nice day.

In article >, gtr
> wrote:

> In article >, Steve Wertz
> > wrote:
>
> > Fish sauce lasts for quite a while and it's cheap.
>
> Hmm. Most of the time I eat fish sauce it's in a Vietnamese restaurant
> since I live minutes from "Little Saigon" in Westminster, CA. I do
> have a big, more costly brand of same in my pantry though (glass
> bottle). How long do you figure an open, unrefrigerated bottle of fish
> sauce would last? It never occured to me that it wouldn't make it into
> the next ice age...

Good question! Has anyone answered?

--
Thank you and have a nice day.

In article >,
Steve Wertz > wrote:

> On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 19:46:30 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
>
> > Steve Wertz wrote:
> >
> >> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
> >
> > Why not?
>
> Because most plastic is slightly porous. Some of those bottles
> have been through hell and back before they hit the shelves,
> often for another, long rest.
>
> Although its already spoiled, if it sits in plastic too long it
> will spoil in a different way. I've seen some really old fish
> sauce in plastic bottles at some stores. It's not a pretty sight
> - dark and cloudy.
>
> The fact that it's in plastic bottles to begin with is a bad sign
> already, fresh or not.
>
> -sw

The brands in plastic are usually saltier than the ones packed in glass.
I've had fish sauce in plastic bottles where the salt precipitated with
time.

Cindy
Another Three Crabs supporter

--
C.J. Fuller

Delete the obvious to email me

On Fri, 11 Aug 2006 04:46:06 GMT, Cindy Fuller
> wrote:

>In article >,
> Steve Wertz > wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 7 Aug 2006 19:46:30 -0700, Ken Blake wrote:
>>
>> > Steve Wertz wrote:
>> >
>> >> Never buy fish sauce in plastic bottles.
>> >
>> > Why not?
>>
>> Because most plastic is slightly porous. Some of those bottles
>> have been through hell and back before they hit the shelves,
>> often for another, long rest.
>>
>> Although its already spoiled, if it sits in plastic too long it
>> will spoil in a different way. I've seen some really old fish
>> sauce in plastic bottles at some stores. It's not a pretty sight
>> - dark and cloudy.
>>
>> The fact that it's in plastic bottles to begin with is a bad sign
>> already, fresh or not.
>>
>> -sw
>
>The brands in plastic are usually saltier than the ones packed in glass.
>I've had fish sauce in plastic bottles where the salt precipitated with
>time.

I've had that happen to product in both plastic and glass bottles.

>Cindy
>Another Three Crabs supporter

- John Frawley

Doesn't refrigerating fish sauce make the salt precipitate out after awile?

It really is cheap enough to just replace every year (as I do with most of
my liquid condiments - why take a chance?)

Chris Brooks

"Steve Wertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Wed, 09 Aug 2006 08:53:53 -0700, gtr wrote:
>
>>> Hmm. Most of the time I eat fish sauce it's in a Vietnamese restaurant
>>> since I live minutes from "Little Saigon" in Westminster, CA. I do
>>> have a big, more costly brand of same in my pantry though (glass
>>> bottle). How long do you figure an open, unrefrigerated bottle of fish
>>> sauce would last? It never occured to me that it wouldn't make it into
>>> the next ice age...
>>
>> Good question! Has anyone answered?
>
> I had an off-brand (http://importfood.com/sarp4201.html) go bad
> after 1.5 years. I've never had a bottle of 3 Crabs long enough
> to go bad (1.5 years, usually). But I store it in the fridge
> because I usually have more (and taller) room there than in the
> pantry.
>
> -sw

Hello, Steve!
You wrote on Sun, 13 Aug 2006 17:40:26 GMT:

??>> Doesn't refrigerating fish sauce make the salt precipitate
??>> out after awile?

SW> I would suspect so since colder liquids can't be saturated
SW> as much as warmer liquids.

SW> But having the salt crystalize wouldn't be a bad thing.
SW> Most fish sauces have a lot to begin with - plenty enough
SW> to spare. And you can't trust the sodium content listed on
SW> the bottles.

SW> I find 3 Crabs to be the least saltiest. But it has MSG,
SW> too.

Since many people feel strongly, I am not going to get into a
fight even if am a sceptic about msg and will not respond to
anecdotes about horrible experiences. I have never seen salt
precipitation from the Golden Boy sauce that I keep in the
refrigerator but I tend to doubt that any loss will do much
harm. I wonder how the manufacturers obtain the alleged dietary
contents on many imported foods and tend to suspect pure
optimistic guesswork? I have seen Indian poppadums with
apparently identical recipes from different manufacturers one
saying 0% fat and the other 2%.

James Silverton
Potomac, Maryland

E-mail, with obvious alterations:
not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not

In article >, ArmisBrooks
> wrote:

> It really is cheap enough to just replace every year (as I do with most of
> my liquid condiments - why take a chance?)

Truly. But one tends to overlook the passage of time until it's
demonstrated in such things.

--
Thank you and have a nice day.

In article >, James
Silverton wrote:

> I wonder how the manufacturers obtain the alleged dietary contents on
> many imported foods and tend to suspect pure optimistic guesswork? I
> have seen Indian poppadums with apparently identical recipes from
> different manufacturers one saying 0% fat and the other 2%.

Years ago when I was watching my sodium I began purchasing a fantastic
ranch salad dressing at the local market with microscopic sodium level.
A year later I noted it had jumped to a staggering level. It tasted no
different. Clearly they had gimped the first label run.

--
Thank you and have a nice day.