Fish Sauce

[SmokeJumper]

Phu Quoc Island Beachside Accomodation. One of the perks of working on a tropical island:

 

[SmokeJumper]

The Phu Quoc Shipyards - new fishing boats ready for commissioning:

 

[R2Egg2Q]

I thought I would throw in a few pics of Phu Quoc Island and our plant.
To start: The fermenting facility with hand made barrels and ladder. Note: That ladder is not Brethren Compliant.

Hopefully you didn't find out firsthand that the ladder was non-compliant:wink:.

Nice pics! The beachside accomodation looks like a really tough place to work. :roll:

 

[Smiter Q]

Always wanted to visit the Philippines. The area that you are at looks wonderful. My mouth is watering thinking about fishsauce. Yummmm.
Whole Foods corporate headquarters is here in Austin. If you need me to bring them a few bottles, just let me know!

 

[NeoTrout]

Oh yeah. That looks like an awesome place to work. I definitely want to check out some Red Boat. I usually use Three Crab fish sauce. When my current stash runs out (or if you put up a "Brethren deal") I'm in.

 

[SmokeJumper]

I have generated a Brethren exclusive Coupon Code good for the next four days. The code is "Brethren5". It is for $5 off for purchase of $18 or more.
If you purchase one of each of our sauces that comes out to $18. Our two sauces are Red Boat 35°N and 40°N with °N denoting a Vietnamese industry standard protein concentration. The higher this value the richer and more complex the sauce. To achieve a naturally fermented 40°N level we have to use very lean fish caught at certain times of year using special fishing techniques. The vast majority sauces on the market are well below 30°N and rely on added hydrolyzed vegetable and wheat proteins to achieve the higher protein concentrations.
I often recommend the 35°N for cooked sauces because it is a better value but still quite rich and the 40°N with it's depth, complexity, and natural sweetness for dipping sauces, dressings, and vinaigrettes. I'll post a recipe for the classic Vietnamese dipping sauce, Nuoc Cham, here later tonight. I'm looking forward to hearing how you all use Red Boat!

 

[Gore]

Thanks Rob, showed these posts to my wife and we'll be placing an order as soon as we can be sure to get the mail without it sitting outside for a few days. Definitely wants to have some great fish sauce and thought these would be great Christmas presents. She also wants to visit the factory. Didn't see anywhere on the website where we could order those groovy hot tubs.

 

[SteerCrazy]

I like fish sauce but use the 'mass' brand. Can't wait to try the real deal. Thanks for the discount, I've ordered some for family too. :-D

 

[NeoTrout]

Just pulled the trigger for a couple of bottles. Can't wait to try 'em.

 

[Cook]

3 Crab.

 

[landarc]

Three Crabs is not even close.

 

[BigButzBBQ]

This is an awesome deal, people should definitely be jumping on it. Still trying to jedi-mind-trick my wife into trying fish sauce. :becky:

 

[Capozzoli]

Im ordering some.

Good fish sauce is hard to find.

smokejumper, what advice can you give on fish sauce storage. How long can it be kept in the fridge?

Cant wait to see the dipping sauce recipe.

Here is some Vietnamese pron.

Please disregard the fish sauce in the above pics.

 

[gtr]

My wife is allergic to fish, so normally no fishy stuff around the house, which is a bummer for me. She will be out of town for a week, so it looks like I got some ordering to do!

 

[SmokeJumper]

What would be the best way to compare vs other brands? Not sure doing a shot of each side by side would sit well. We normally use it in Thai cooking and although I can definitely tell if fish sauce wasn't used(we run out sometimes) - I'm not sure the subtleties would shine through with the coconut and spices.

My favorite way to compare it is to add a pinch of sugar and chopped birdseye chilis and put it straight on jasmine rice.

A more approachable way for most to taste it would be to make nuoc cham, the national condiment of Vietnam, and put on rice, use as a dip with fresh veggies or use as a sauce on lightly grilled meat in it. This sauce is so great because it balances all of the major tastes (sweet, sour, salt, hot, umami) while letting the depth of the fish sauce shine through. The sauce is essentially a limeade with fish sauce added and some pounded garlic and chili for additional flavor.

Here is my recipe but feel free to adjust any component or substitute other acids (white wine or rice wine vinegar) or sweetener (honey, splenda, white sugar) to achieve your favorite sauce:

3 Tbs Red Boat
2 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice
2 Tbs warm water
2 Tbs palm sugar
1 clove garlic and 1 fresh red bird’s eye chile, pounded or minced

Directions: In a small jar with a lid, combine the warm water, sugar, and lime juice and shake until sugar is dissolved. Add remainder of ingredients and shake it up. Taste and adjust to your liking.
(Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days - lasts a week if vinegar is used instead of lime)
Yield: 3/4 cup

 

[SmokeJumper]

Sounds like getting real tofu in Kyoto! Rob, there's a huge Vietnamese population in Memphis. Your company may do well to market here.

Believe it or not, Memphis is actually prominent on our radar. You should expect me on your doorstep early on a cool October morning. Make sure you warn RedHot as I'm a pretty scary guy.

Am so jealous!
Please let us know if you ever have a stockist in the UK, as it sounds amazing!

The requests from UK, France, Netherlands, and Australia have been overwhelming. We currently have distribution in the U.S. and New Zealand, hope to be in Canada by early next year and would love to introduce Red Boat to Europe and SmokinAussie by 2013.

Hopefully you didn't find out firsthand that the ladder was non-compliant:wink:.

Funny you mention it, I took one step up that very bamboo ladder, heard a horrible creak, saw two of our 120 lb workers stare at me in horror (I am pushing 200lbs) and got the heck off. I think I need bring a metal ladder to the plant when I return in August so I can see what the fish sauce looks like. :wink:

 

[Gore]

We've tried many brands of fish sauce and all of them taste very different. We're very excited to try this one.

 

[smokinQ2]

I would love a bottle and willing to pay. I have always wanted to use Fish Sauce and never really trusted what I found in the local stores. Yours sounds awesome.

 

[landarc]

Wait, I wanted to be the Memphis, North Carolina and Kansas City sales rep.

 

[martyleach]

I'm in! Can't wait to try it!