> Sqwertz > wrote:
>>On Sun, 25 Apr 2010 12:08:13 -0400, Ian wrote:
>
>> The Thai Asian Grocery lady in Vienna gave me this bottle when I asked
>> for Nahm Pla Raa, and she was curious about what I was going to do with
>> it - its off-beat even for Thai people, apparently.
>
>I used to buy the whole fish mam nem from the bulk section of a
>Vietnamese grocer in San Jose. The stuff looks like mud with blue
>streaks in it (from the skin that hasn't quite decomposed like the
>rest of the fish)

This just as an aside. Wife & I had the pleasure of staying along the
San Jose-Santa Clara border on & off, several weeks at a time,
throughout the spring of 2008. You have oustanding food choices there
among grocers in addition to restaurants. Envious.

>One day I took it to the counter and a couple of ladies behind me
>started talking to the cashier in Vietnmamese and laughing, looking
>at me and pointing at my purchase.
>
>I had no idea what they were saying, but I could guess. I opened up
>the plastic container and took a good long whiff for them, then
>dipped my finger in it and licked it off. Then I rubbed my belly
>and smiled. They started laughing again, good naturedly - in what
>I'd like to think was admiration or maybe even great respect.
>
>Except for the cashier who looked totally incredulous and
>speechless. Almost like she was going to puke. She was younger
>generation Vietnamese.
>
>> Anyway, the bottle says, as you guessed, 'Mam Nem'. Ingredients are fish
>> extract, water, salt. Its made by Foodex in Thailand.
>
>Congratulations. Now open it and take a good long whiff!
>
>I just bought some fermented whole shrimp, which is a new one for
>me. It's mam tom... something. Mam tom (and mam rouc) is mam nem
>made with shrimp instead of fish - it's even more potent. It's
>equivalent to Thai shrimp paste (kapi) or it's other SE Asian names:
>belecan, blachan, terasi, bagoong alamang, saeujeot. These are the
>King of what I collectively call "Fermented Fish Products".
>
>This version I have just bought is made with whole shrimp that look
>quite like normal, edible shrimp and not decomposing at all. I hope
>looks are deceiving, though. It is not the pink paste or sludge
>that is usually associated with mam tom/rouc. If I can find my
>camera I'll take a couple pictures before and after I open it.
>
>> Maybe I should check my Vietnamese cookbooks for ideas.
>
>Look fro a recipe for the mam nem sauce that uses 2x as much
>pineapple as raw mam nem, a littler bit of sugar, hot peppers, and
>rice vinegar.
>
>> One of these days I will actually bite the bullet and open it.
>
>Take 3 shots of 151 and go for it. It wasn't an acquired taste for
>me. But I had a very good Vietanmese restaurant next door that
>taught me well (even if I didn't understand a word they said). I
>just found their menu in my scrap box yesterday. The place burned
>down a decade ago.
>
>-sw