Talk:Fish sauce

Untitled
Added some information on the origins of fish sauce in SEA, sorry for no sources, I'll have to look through a bunch of my SEA'n history books, but I'll see what I can do Tmbentley (talk) 04:51, 5 March 2008 (UTC)

Why must you search for nuoc mam misspelled as "nouc mam" to find this page? Should we change the spelling of every non-english word on wikipedia??

I think Garum shouldn't redirect here but ought to have its own independent page discussing solely the roman sauce, its manufacture, use and trade. Salvadorjo 02:12, 23 July 2005 (UTC)
 * I'd like to see that too. Factitious 04:57, August 12, 2005 (UTC)

I think its good to see the link made between garum and South East Asian fish sauces, but agree a separate page on Garum and Colatura (the modern version of Garum still made in Cetera on the Amalfi Coast south of Naples) would be good.

I've translated the Spanish article on Garum into English and changed the redirect into an article. See what you think! Erudy 17:52, 10 March 2006 (UTC)


 * I put the reference at Pozzolana for Cosa; A.M.McCann was the person doing the Cosa work. The article pointed out that an amphora of wine was costly, but that the condiment garum was dramatically more valuable !  (The ref states that Pliny the Elder said that Garum fetched 10 times the price of the wine.)--MichaelMcAnnisYumaAZMmcannis 18:29, 10 March 2006 (UTC)


 * McCann, A.M. (1994). "The Roman Port of Cosa",(273 BC), Scientific American, Ancient Cities, pp. 92-99, by Anna Marguerite McCann.  Covers, hydraulic concrete, of "Pozzolana mortar" and the 5 piers, of the Cosa harbor, the Lighthouse on pier 5, diagrams, and photographs. Height of Port city: Mmcannis 18:29, 10 March 2006 (UTC)

Garum vs. Liquamen
dysmorodrepanis wrote:
 * Any of the thicker varieties of Southeast Asian fish sauces (like Padek), preferrably from mackerel, would be the modern equivalent of the original Ancient Roman variety for cooking purposes where garum is used, and any thinner sauce (like nước mắm) when liquamen is called for.

The difference between garum and liquamen is not entirely clear. Pretty much all our textual sources say that they are the same thing, but archaeological evidence implies they were originally different. Food scholar Sally Grainger is working on an article on this subject that will argue that liquamen was essentially any fish sauce, but garum was made specifically from blood and intestines of especially desirable fish. WHile mackerel was definitely considered a desirable fish, and whereas one might expect blood-based fish sauce to be especially thick, I don't think this is entirely certain. Furthermore, until Grainger officially publishes her article, we can't use it. Did you have another source? --Iustinus 01:57, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for a great article
I'm not sure who is responsible, but I want to express my sincere gratitude to all of the editors that make this article a great one. You seem to have captured the essence of this extraordinary condiment; one that I could not live without. Cheers to all of you. Morton devonshire 00:25, 6 May 2006 (UTC)

hoisin sauce
It might be worth mentioning that "hoisin sauce" is sometimes translated to "fish sauce," but is actually a different condiment altogether (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoisin_sauce).

Surströmming
I think a link to surströmming is needed, but I can't seem to "fit" in the article. Shinobu 04:02, 1 June 2007 (UTC)

Initial paragraph wording.
"However, fish sauce specifically from Philippines are, not customarily used nor designed for immediate consumption a simple heating or thawing of fish sauce does not apply at all." It's difficult for me to parse this sentence. Perhaps it could be worded in a way that's more understandable? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.12.177.217 (talk) 22:45, 5 January 2008 (UTC)

What is this sauce?
I went to a sort of pan-Asian restaurant that served what they called "fish sauce" on the side with many dishes. The sauce is transparent, yellow to slightly orange, sweet, salty, thin (not viscous), has no oil floating on top, has a difficult to describe flavor, and they claim it contains no fish. I tend to believe this, because it doesn't taste fishy. What is this sauce? Any idea? I assume it is called "fish sauce" because it is for fish, sort of like duck sauce. Any ideas? Is this kind of sauce common? Thank you.Fluoborate (talk) 05:10, 20 May 2008 (UTC)


 * if the restaurant is vegetarian, sometimes they use a "mock" fish sauce. you can find them in SE asian grocery stores.
 * if the sauce was "slightly orange" and "sweet" however, that sounds more like duck sauce! are you sure it wasn't a duck sauce/fish sauce (mock or otherwise) MIX?  that's quite common in thai restos (not sure about cambo, viet, etc).
 * fish sauce alone is salty salty SALTY! and sort of a pale brown.--66.3.106.2 (talk) 10:46, 9 April 2011 (UTC)
 * For what is worth, duck sauce is Tianmian sauce, the sauce used in Peking duck. Not actually made from ducks. --46.232.120.243 (talk) 08:31, 1 August 2023 (UTC)

Early ketchup was fermented fish sauce before tomato catchup was invented.
Early ketchup was fermented fish sauce before tomato catchup was invented. Perhaps this small fact could be mentioned. wloveral 30 May 2010. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.82.243.21 (talk) 21:22, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

External links modified
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Caption History
It currently reads "Ancient China or Ancient Greece." Suggest changing to "Ancient China AND Ancient Greece?" Facial (talk) 06:10, 9 February 2019 (UTC)

Alternative to sodium
For the record, today, in this edit, user:Timan123 removed this text:
 * In January 2016, the Institute of Food Technologists published a study asserting that the "Vietnamese fish sauce added to chicken broth, tomato sauce and coconut curry reduced the amount of sodium chloride by 10–25 percent while still maintaining the perceived deliciousness, saltiness and overall flavor intensity."

Taiman123 gave this edit summary: "citation is 404 and it doesn't make sense". Actually, I would say it make perfect sense - the point not being that sodium miraculously disappears when fish sauce is added, but that less sodium needs be added to get a palatable dish when fish sauce is also used. Googling e.g "vietnamese fish sauce alternative to sodium" yields several still valid hits from 2016, but I am not sure any of these qualify as a good source, e.g. ScienceDaily being known for churnalism.--Nø (talk) 15:17, 28 September 2020 (UTC)

The working link and the extra clarification is good, I agree with this, thank you. Timan123 (talk) 14:02, 12 January 2022 (UTC) to Nø