![]() ![]() We could not find out anything about the manufacturer or importer. New Town’s origin is Vietnam the best fish sauce is arguably from Vietnam. It seems almost all the fish sauce on the market bear claims like “From Phu Quoc” that’s nothing more than deceptive marketing intended to capitalize on the history of high-quality fish sauce from Vietnam’s Phu Quoc island. It bears the 60°N designation, which is indicative of its nitrogen (protein) level. We found it on the shelf of our local Vietnamese super market. Salt Level: Medium-High Ingredients: Anchovy, Sea Salt Protein: 4g Protein per 1 Tbsp Just straight forward”, “an oolong tea aroma”, “fish, but not fishy”, “This smells pure”, “like seared fish”, “I’m on the beach”, “fish is the clear leader here”, “caramelized onions”, “salt is at the front, but fish quickly follows”, “a slightly sweet finish, but natural, not added”, “This is easily the best to far”, “I just want to keep tasting this”. ![]() According to Red Boat “The highest quality fish sauces are greater than 30°N, with the flavor becoming more rich and complex with larger N designation.”Īgreed we both “love this”, “Simple, not complex. This is a standard to measure the number of grams of nitrogen per liter of fish sauce, which directly relates to the protein level. Red Boat was one of the first brands I’ve known to declare Degrees N. ![]() In the end Red Boat was the clear winner. ![]() It was remarked “Now this is what fish sauce should taste like.” There’s currently a lot of buzz around Red Boat. The taste is fish and salt, with a slightly sweet finish. We both immediately agreed that this was easily the best so far. Red Boat 40°N just happened to be toward the end of all the different sauces we tasted (blind). One of the highlights of that dinner was Jaime’s Vietnamese-style Grilled Pork Balls (follow the link for the recipe) sauced with the Vietnamese dipping sauce, Nước chấm. Golden boy sub indo batch full#We had a full day of taste testing followed by a night of grilled foods incorporating fish sauce. To do so I recruited my good friend, and fellow food blogger, Jaime Vasquez (pronounced high-may) of Three Thousand Acre Kitchen. A Collaboration with Three Thousand Acre Kitchen Regardless, we found that in all cases those brands with an off-putting aroma shared the same taste. While we considered and documented aroma, it did not factor into our scoring of taste. It should not taste sweetened if there is perceivable sweetness it should taste natural and be on the finish.It should taste of fish and the ocean, but not be “fishy” or off-putting.Fish should be the dominate flavor, with salt to follow.It should taste pure, with fish and sea salt being the only perceivable ingredients.The goal of this tasting was to find the brand which possessed the best flavor. Our basis for the “best” tasting fish sauce was as follows: McGee states that first foods fermented by the Chinese, fish and meats, were eventually replaced by soy beans in the 2nd century BCE. Fish sauce is believed to be the precursor to soy sauce. As a liquid, it’s value was comparable to the finest perfumes. It then spread to coastal deltas and was applied to ocean fish.” McGee goes on to cite the origin of Asian fish sauces as garum, an ancient Roman sauce that “consists of the guts of fish and other parts that would otherwise be considered refuse, so the garum is really the liquor from putrefaction.”, according to the Roman historian, Pliny. It was said that the best garum was made only from mackerel and came from Roman outposts in Spain. According to Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking, fish fermentation “arose several thousand years ago in the freshwaters of Southwest China and the Mekong River region. In the Philippines it’s patis, Korea, aek jeot, and so on. The Thai call it nam pla, the Vietnamese, nuoc mam. It’s the backbone of Eastern Asian cuisine. Fish Sauce, A Primerįish sauce is simple: Fish (usually anchovies) mixed with sea salt and fermented for a long period. We know the magic it holds, but which brand is the best? Is the Vietnamese nuoc mam really superior to Thailand’s nam pla? We tasted 13 different brands of fish sauce, all commercially available in the States. Fish Sauce, the amber-colored umami Uzzi of Southeast Asian cuisine. ![]()
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