In article >,
"James Silverton" > wrote:

> Stu wrote on Tue, 05 Oct 2010 10:33:51 -0500:
>
> >> Don't laugh, I just bought a bottle of imported Vietnamese
> >> fish sauce and it scares me! Should it be a little bit
> >> chunky, pours ok but after I opened it already I put my
> >> finger over the top a shook it up, it seemed to blow out just
> >> a tiny bit.
> >>
> >> Here is the writing on the bottle, Que Huong, Bun Mam Da
> >> Nang, Mam Nem Pha San, Huong Vi dac Trung, Ho Chi Minh City,
> >> Vietnam.
> >>
> >> Fish sauce smells already so how could you tell if its went
> >> bad?
> >>
> >> Michael
>
> The only fish sauce I use is a Thai variety called Golden Boy, which is
> clear and light yellowish brown. The many sauces I see containing
> various sorts of sludge are most unattractive. Even Golden Boy tasted
> straight is pretty horrible but it does wonders for Thai and Vietnamese
> cooking.

Use a little bit of it in western dishes where you want to enhance the
"meaty" taste -- it's high in umami.

Isaac