Fish sauce, the pungent, tea-colored liquid that flavors the cooking of Southeast Asia, has invaded Western kitchens.
Made from salted and fermented anchovy juice, it brings a depth of flavor, or umami, to many dishes.
Umami is widely considered the fifth taste along with sour, bitter, salty, and sweet. The taste of umami is best described as a sort of meaty savoriness like that found in Parmigiano Reggiano.
I call fish sauce my secret ingredient; the one I reach for when a dish needs a certain something to bring the flavors together.
Although it has a pungent, smelly aroma, it tastes neither strong nor fishy. It is known as nuoc mam in Vietnam, nam pla in Thailand and patis in the Philippines.
Fish sauce became my kitchen staple when I first tried it as a substitute for anchovies in a Caesar salad dressing. I found the stand-in added a new dimension to my dressing, and now I use a judicious splash in tomato dishes, fish soups, green vegetables, and stews _ even in a bloody mary.
It adds a spark of flavor to enliven bland foods unlike anything else.
Rather than used straight, fish sauce is often diluted with water and balanced with lime juice, chiles and sugar such as in a Thai or Vietnamese dipping sauce, or added to a marinade or curry.
Any place anchovies go, fish sauce can go, too, and more easily. You can find fish sauce in the Asian foods aisle of your local grocery store. If you rarely use fish sauce, refrigerate the bottle. Otherwise, store it in a cool, dark place in the pantry. If lots of crystals form or it smells acrid, discard the bottle.
Although a 24-ounce bottle may look like a lifetime supply, it goes quickly once you discover how it can be used in pasta sauces, meatloaf, cooked broccoli rabe, kale, Swiss chard or spinach.
It's great to use fish sauce to season a steak before or after cooking, similar to how you would use Worcestershire sauce or anchovy butter. By the way, Worcestershire sauce also is made with anchovies.
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