an essential part of the diet in SE Asia and an essential ingredient for SE Asian cookery, is made by fermenting small, whole fish in vats of brine and drawing off the supernatant liquid, which is then matured in the sun before being bottled. The product is nuoc mam in Vietnam and nam pla in Thailand.
This product is closely related to the garum and liquamen of classical greece and classical rome. However, in Europe other methods of preserving fish were introduced and their use for fish sauce was discontinued. It is of interest that this happened, since it is not uncommon for a mode of preservation, if it produces a distinctive flavour (such as fish sauce has), to outlive the introduction of new technology. (One English firm was marketing a product called ‘garum’ in the 19th century, for an advertisement appears in an English cookery book of the period; but this seems to have been an isolated survival or renascence.)
The protein content of fish sauce is high, and its composition resembles that of soy sauce; indeed, its role in SE Asia is equivalent to that of soy sauce in China and Japan. The types of fish used vary from region to region. A mixture of marine and freshwater fish may be used.
This type of fish sauce can be the basis of a sauce incorporating other ingredients, for example the nuoc cham of Vietnam, made with nuoc mam, garlic, chilli, and lime juice.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Mackie, I. M., Hardy, R., and Hobbs, G. (1971), Fermented Fish Products, Rome: FAO.
