As a foreigner, are you used to the smell of fish sauce?

[DudleySquat]

There has been much talk here about Gordon Ramsay opening restaurants in Thailand. We watch almost all of his TV shows. We do learn about the art of cooking and I use things I have seen him do in my cooking. With that said, Mr. Ramsay has a liking for fish sauce in some of his cooking.  

 

I can't stand the smell. 

 

A few years ago I walked by the kitchen while my then-wife was preparing something that didn't require fish sauce. Yet, it smelled as if she had spilled some in the utensil drawer.  It didn't require a cleanup to get rid of the smell. It required three antibiotics. 

 

Why would anyone eagerly pour something that smells like a vaginal infection on their food?  Yes, it is a disgusting comparison, but it is right on the money, isn't it? 

 

If it is so good, is it so good for you? 

 

That's a valid question, too.  Rotting fish guts cannot possibly be good for you. Is it? 

Edited September 24, 2023 by DudleySquat

[still kicking]

1 minute ago, DudleySquat said:

There has been much talk here about Gordon Ramsay opening restaurants in Thailand. We watch almost all of his TV shows. We do learn about the art of cooking and I use things I have seen him do in my cooking. With that said, Mr. Ramsay has a liking for fish sauce in some of his cooking.  

 

I can't stand the smell. 

 

A few years ago I walked by the kitchen while my then was preparing something that didn't require fish sauce. Yet, it smelled as if she had spilled some in the utensil drawer.  It didn't require a cleanup to get rid of the smell. It required 3 antibiotics. 

 

Why would anyone eagerly pour something that smells exactly like a vaginal infection on their food?  Yes, it is a disgusting comparison but it is right on the money, isn't it? 

 

If it is so good, is it so good for you? 

 

That's a valid question too.  Rotting fish guts cannot possibly be good for you. Is it? 

Well, I can't stand the smell going to a Thai market have to hold my breath.

[jastheace]

NO

even durian has a more pleasing aroma....

[HauptmannUK]

Are you talking about nam pla ra or nam pla?  The latter is very inoffensive and I use it a lot. As a condiment I find the 'Abalone' brand delicious.

Nam pla ra, on the other hand, is quite pungent. I have developed a taste for it however and often use it as  dressing on som-tam Lao, Korat etc., and on Western-style salads. I'm a big fan of blue cheeses (especially Blue Stilton - a popular British cheese) and I detect some of the same flavours in pla ra.  You need to choose brands carefully, some are overly salty. I prefer the long-fermented slightly sweet pla ra.

Edited September 24, 2023 by HauptmannUK

[still kicking]

4 minutes ago, HauptmannUK said:

Are you talking about nam pla ra or nam pla?  The latter is very inoffensive and I use it a lot. As a condiment I find the 'Abalone' brand delicious.

Nam pla ra, on the other hand, is quite pungent. I have developed a taste for it however and often use it as  dressing on som-tam Lao, Korat etc., and on Western-style salads. I'm a big fan of blue cheeses (especially Blue Stilton - a popular British cheese) and I detect some of the same flavours in pla ra.  You need to choose brands carefully, some are overly salty. I prefer the long-fermented slightly sweet pla ra.

Blue cheese does not smell a lot try Esrom or Harzer roller 

[bunnydrops]

Megachef and Shrimp Brand have a lighter smell, I don't like Squid Brand.Too strong a smell, to me makes everything it is cooked in taste like fish sauce just because of the smell.

[scubascuba3]

It's ok, can definitely take your breath away during street food cooking or cause sneezing

[animalmagic]

13 hours ago, DudleySquat said:

There has been much talk here about Gordon Ramsay opening restaurants in Thailand. We watch almost all of his TV shows. We do learn about the art of cooking and I use things I have seen him do in my cooking. With that said, Mr. Ramsay has a liking for fish sauce in some of his cooking.  

 

I can't stand the smell. 

 

A few years ago I walked by the kitchen while my then-wife was preparing something that didn't require fish sauce. Yet, it smelled as if she had spilled some in the utensil drawer.  It didn't require a cleanup to get rid of the smell. It required three antibiotics. 

 

Why would anyone eagerly pour something that smells like a vaginal infection on their food?  Yes, it is a disgusting comparison, but it is right on the money, isn't it? 

 

If it is so good, is it so good for you? 

 

That's a valid question, too.  Rotting fish guts cannot possibly be good for you. Is it? 

Have you heard of Hakarl (rotting shark) a delicacy in Iceland and Greenland.  Or perhaps Surstromming (canned fermented sea herring) a delicacy in Sweden that is the entire fish, rotting guts and all.

With regard to knowledge of the smell of vaginal infections I must bow to your superior knowledge and experience.

[stix40]

I have a sniff from a nam pla bottle every morning,

It wakes me up ! ????

[CecilM]

Love the stuff.

Have gone so far as to buy many different brands to explore taste (salty, fishy, sweet, umami, etc) and usage differences (better for cooking, better as condiment, etc).

Even the ancient Romans had an equivalent and were mad about it. 
Popular then, popular now. I’m hooked. 

[SiSePuede419]

Remember to use the right amount of fish sauce, not the White amount. ????

[JAS21]

I find that the smell/taste totally depends upon the brand… some brands I find quite ok and others not so. I have always assumed that it is the cheaper brands that I find not okay but maybe that is not actually correct.

[Andyfez]

My wife gets the munchies before bedtime, and brings a dish of somtum into the bedroom before she can sleep.

The remains sit on the bedside table all night often......

[Irish star]

14 hours ago, DudleySquat said:

There has been much talk here about Gordon Ramsay opening restaurants in Thailand. We watch almost all of his TV shows. We do learn about the art of cooking and I use things I have seen him do in my cooking. With that said, Mr. Ramsay has a liking for fish sauce in some of his cooking.  

 

I can't stand the smell. 

 

A few years ago I walked by the kitchen while my then-wife was preparing something that didn't require fish sauce. Yet, it smelled as if she had spilled some in the utensil drawer.  It didn't require a cleanup to get rid of the smell. It required three antibiotics. 

 

Why would anyone eagerly pour something that smells like a vaginal infection on their food?  Yes, it is a disgusting comparison, but it is right on the money, isn't it? 

 

If it is so good, is it so good for you? 

 

That's a valid question, too.  Rotting fish guts cannot possibly be good for you. Is it? 

And the amount of Sodium yuk 

[Fairynuff]

Doesn’t bother me at all. It’s an essential ingredient that can’t be replaced by normal salt.

[Gandtee]

14 hours ago, DudleySquat said:

There has been much talk here about Gordon Ramsay opening restaurants in Thailand. We watch almost all of his TV shows. We do learn about the art of cooking and I use things I have seen him do in my cooking. With that said, Mr. Ramsay has a liking for fish sauce in some of his cooking.  

 

I can't stand the smell. 

 

A few years ago I walked by the kitchen while my then-wife was preparing something that didn't require fish sauce. Yet, it smelled as if she had spilled some in the utensil drawer.  It didn't require a cleanup to get rid of the smell. It required three antibiotics. 

 

Why would anyone eagerly pour something that smells like a vaginal infection on their food?  Yes, it is a disgusting comparison, but it is right on the money, isn't it? 

 

If it is so good, is it so good for you? 

 

That's a valid question, too.  Rotting fish guts cannot possibly be good for you. Is it? 

I've no knowingly smelt an infected vagina. But I like fish sauce. Nam bla prik.????

[quake]

No don't like the smell, even after 25 years.

But it does make food taste good.

But when overly used in any dish , it just tastes disguising to me.

 

Thai's as kids years back,  had rice and Fish sauce as a snack.  

 

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, stix40 said:

I have a sniff from a nam pla bottle every morning,

It wakes me up ! ????

I use it for eye drops... and nasal spray..

also gargle is good.

[huangnon]

I don't mind the smell of fish sauce. Combined frying with basil it can launch a fit of sneezing though.

 

The smell of pla ra on the other hand is horrendous to these nostrils. I've banned it in the house, forcing the missus to covertly sneak it and eat it in a spare room, like she's doing drugs or something. ????

[quake]

46 minutes ago, Andyfez said:

My wife gets the munchies before bedtime, and brings a dish of somtum into the bedroom before she can sleep.

The remains sit on the bedside table all night often......

Somtum in the bedroom. 

No way !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

 

 

[Aussiepeter]

Funny story about nam-pla. My first ever experience of both LOS & fish sauce was on an overseas  posting to Europe in 1987, with a stopover in Bangkok. I stayed in Embassy accommodation with a mate & we got a bit sloshed the first night on beers initially, then Mekong whiskey. The Oz embassy back then had two condo's at Jomtien for free, so we got a lift down there in the Embassy car (a Benz). The driver spoke little English but as we drove to Pattaya, my mate saw a stall selling what looked to us exactly like the whiskey we drank the night before. He got the driver to stop & we bought two bottles of 'Mekong', or so we thought. Dirt cheap too, we were amazed - only about 50 baht a bottle - same exact bottle, same label. As we drove on my mate, a big Geordie, decided that a 'crack of the whip' would do wonders for his hangover. He opened a bottle & took a huge swig. The embassy Merc almost got a spray. "(expletive) - it tastes like bl**dy fish !" You guessed it - we had just found out that they make nam-pla down in Rayong & sell it on the side of the road. Better him than me - many laughs later on as we worked it out. Like a few on here - if it is in the food then OK, but even after 23 years of marriage, the smell still bothers me ....

[HappyExpat57]

Not "used to it," rather I'm resigned to tolerating it. No matter how much I might whinge about it, it ain't going away.

[RamenRaven]

I love blue cheese.

 

That's why I can tolerate fish sauce.

 

But I can't understand why Thais can't tolerate the smell of blue cheese. It's basically the cheesy version of fish sauce.

 

[impulse]

Which one is it that gives you liver flukes and liver cancer?

 

'Cause I'd like to avoid those.  I'm actually afraid to eat some great looking/smelling street food because I can't tell if they use a commercial bottled sauce (safe, I figure) or their homemade secret formula (dodgy?)

 

[quake]

44 minutes ago, Aussiepeter said:

Funny story about nam-pla. My first ever experience of both LOS & fish sauce was on an overseas  posting to Europe in 1987, with a stopover in Bangkok. I stayed in Embassy accommodation with a mate & we got a bit sloshed the first night on beers initially, then Mekong whiskey. The Oz embassy back then had two condo's at Jomtien for free, so we got a lift down there in the Embassy car (a Benz). The driver spoke little English but as we drove to Pattaya, my mate saw a stall selling what looked to us exactly like the whiskey we drank the night before. He got the driver to stop & we bought two bottles of 'Mekong', or so we thought. Dirt cheap too, we were amazed - only about 50 baht a bottle - same exact bottle, same label. As we drove on my mate, a big Geordie, decided that a 'crack of the whip' would do wonders for his hangover. He opened a bottle & took a huge swig. The embassy Merc almost got a spray. "(expletive) - it tastes like bl**dy fish !" You guessed it - we had just found out that they make nam-pla down in Rayong & sell it on the side of the road. Better him than me - many laughs later on as we worked it out. Like a few on here - if it is in the food then OK, but even after 23 years of marriage, the smell still bothers me ....

Ha Ha,

Thought you were going to say it had 91 Gasohol in it. 

 

 

[Purdey]

Doesn't bother me. I use it on rice instead of salt.

[HauptmannUK]

30 minutes ago, RamenRaven said:

I love blue cheese.

 

That's why I can tolerate fish sauce.

 

But I can't understand why Thais can't tolerate the smell of blue cheese. It's basically the cheesy version of fish sauce.

 

My wife loves blue cheese...

[nauseus]

15 hours ago, DudleySquat said:

There has been much talk here about Gordon Ramsay opening restaurants in Thailand. We watch almost all of his TV shows. We do learn about the art of cooking and I use things I have seen him do in my cooking. With that said, Mr. Ramsay has a liking for fish sauce in some of his cooking.  

 

I can't stand the smell. 

 

A few years ago I walked by the kitchen while my then-wife was preparing something that didn't require fish sauce. Yet, it smelled as if she had spilled some in the utensil drawer.  It didn't require a cleanup to get rid of the smell. It required three antibiotics. 

 

Why would anyone eagerly pour something that smells like a vaginal infection on their food?  Yes, it is a disgusting comparison, but it is right on the money, isn't it? 

 

If it is so good, is it so good for you? 

 

That's a valid question, too.  Rotting fish guts cannot possibly be good for you. Is it? 

All the British TV chefs seem to use some green top squid-based stuff, which I detest and can ruin many Thai dishes. I like what must be the most popular Thai fish sauce, which has to be Tiparos, made from fermented anchovies, which I have consumed gallons of over the years without problem and which should be good for you too, given that the anchovy is a source of omega-3 and selenium.

[quake]

8 minutes ago, Sticky Rice Balls said:

that would be sangsom......keeps my motor running!

Back in the day.

SangTip,  SangSom,  Mekong, all used for storing Gasohol at the side of the road. and anything else that has a top on it.

 

 

Edited September 25, 2023 by quake

[Reginald Prewster]

Well, its all about growing the right receptors.

2002 I thought "darn, that will kill the cat" but now I am used to it and actually like the smell.

 

Was it not the same as toddler?

I couldn't stand cabbage, sprouts, onions and so on..

But my parents never treated me to eat it.

They did exactly the opposite and told me, "you are too young to eat that" and so I challenged myself untill I developed my taste to it. 

 

I remember my first Burger at Mc Vomit... What a disappointment where all my friends cheered the first MC D in our town. After a few I started to like them..