description
Fish sauce is essential to Burmese cooking, similar to Thai fish sauce, nam pla. The Burmese version is slightly stronger without being pungent. A good fish sauce is said to be ‘a clear, reddish brown colour, like the colour of good whisky or sherry, without any sediments. It has a pleasant aroma of the sea, not an overwhelming fishiness, and should not be overly salty.
substitutes
Thai fish sauce, salt for vegetarians
availability
Supermarkets, Asian stores
