Just a quick note about fish sauce before I head out for
busy week at the IACP conference, punctuated with teaching a couple cooking
classes. I’ve been looking out for premium fish sauce (i.e., no funky additives and practically drinkable taste) ever since I got my first
whiff and taste of the brown label Megachef from Thailand in 2009.
Then a couple of years ago, Vietnamese Red Boat started sending stuff, which I
wrote about in a “Saveur 100” ditty in 2011. Home cooks and professional chefs are looking for excellent
fish sauce, just as they are other premium ingredients like olive oil.
But where to buy premium fish sauce easily? Yes, Red Boat is
available via mail order and some select Asian and non-Asian markets. But Megachef is also terrific. Bee of Rasa Malaysia told me a
while back that she’d found it in Orange County’s Little Saigon. I didn’t see
Megachef in Northern California. I knew that they’d been trying to find a distribution
channel in the U.S. but didn’t come across it myself.
Things changed last month. My sister Linh took me to her
favorite market in Little Saigon: Green Farm Market in Fountain Valley,
California. It’s a totally low key place in a strip mall behind a Union 76 gas
station. I normally go to the gigantic and well organized Thuan Phat (Shun Fat) Westminster
Superstore on Beach Boulevard.
Green Farm
Market was relatively clean and organized and had a great fish sauce selection. I made my
sister walk every aisle with me and in the fish sauce area, I found a Phu Quoc
fish sauce distributed by a company called IHA Beverage. Here it is
with Red Boat.
The IHA fish sauce has Korean Hangul because Korean cooks
use nuoc mam in making kimchi; they’re a growing market for Vietnamese fish
sauce. The flavor of IHA? It’s really good, a bit more delicate than Red Boat, which has a certain thick
mouthfeel. The IHA sold at Green Farm Market for nearly $6 a bottle; Three
Crabs is roughly $3.50 so IHA is positioned to be upscale. Yes, the pure
sourcing of IHA’s product is not as transparent as Red Boat, which makes
theirs, but IHA seems like a solid fish sauce to use.
The other premium fish sauce discovery was the blue label Megachef, which Bee mentioned
but I didn’t find till I set foot into Green Farm Market. For whatever reason
-- maybe people don’t know it or they are suspicious because the label covers
up the fish sauce – but the little bottle you see below sold for less than a
dollar. Green Farm Market had a number of small format fish sauce bottles,
which are great for table use.
Turns out that Megachef blue label is suppose to be a
little lighter for the Viet palate whereas Megachef brown label is for the
Thai kitchen. Note the Thai script versus the Vietnamese romanization. The
difference between the two? Very negligible, if any. Megachef says that their
premium fish sauce is aged 2 years. It’s got very good flavor. I found an
Oregon-based distributor
and hope that that means more Megachef at more stores; that distributor just
added Red Boat. Australians have better access to Megachef as uber Thai chef
David Thompson was an early proponent.
These topnotch Asian ingredients are extremely affordable relative to
other premium food products. The problem is finding them. Check them out,
spread the word, and eventually we’ll have better access to great ingredients!
If you’ve seen these
fish sauces, where? Or, are there other fish sauces you like?
Related posts:
Chi T. says
Thuan Phat (Shun Phat) sells these all over SGV .. I have not tried IHA though! I will definitely be on the lookout! Doesn't Megachef's blue bottle use additives? I have not seen the brown one .. Will keep my eye out on that one!
Ekalak Lakshana says
I've tasted various brands of Fish Sauce. However, in my opinion Megachef Fish Sauce has not only a great flavor but smell to it.
Betty Ann @Mango_Queen says
What an interesting article about fish sauces. I've always used the Filipino 'patis' brands which I'm used to and my sons who grew up in America find it extremely salty so I've had to lessen the amount when cooking. Good to know I can use alternatives for different Asian dishes - like what you indicated here for Thai or Vietnamese. Thanks for this informative resource, Andrea. Have fun at the IACP. Maybe we'll meet at the next one 🙂
Cathy says
Thank you, Andrea! Perfect timing. I'm headed to Sacramento this weekend so I am adding premium fish sauce to my Corti Brothers list. I'll let you know what they have. The previous post was also perfect timing. We'd been having asparagus from our garden every other day and I needed some inspiration. The asparagus shrimp stir fry was delicious. My husband won't eat shrimp but he loved the asparagus with the sauce.
Good luck with the IACP awards!
FreeRangeNan says
Kokua Market natural foods cooperative in Honolulu, recently started carrying Red Boat. It's good, but so expensive I reserve it for finishing or table use (as I would with a super-premium olive oil). Don't remember exact price, but it was over $8 for 250 ml!
I'll look around for the others and let you know if I find anything.
BTW, fish sauce makes a good sub for anchovies in Caesar dressing etc. I often use it instead of salt for pasta dishes, soups, ...
Lagatta de Montréal says
I also sub fish sauce for anchovies in Mediterranean cooking. Remember, the ancient Romans used garum, a similar fermented fish condiment. Pleased to see your site and I'll be exploring the recipes and other features.
Chris says
Red Boat is in many of the asian markets in Charlotte, NC so if you can find it there I would guess many places around the country will have it.
Flavors Chef says
Red Boat is sold by Whole Foods in Denver, CO at their Tamarac store. Probably the other stores would carry it too. It's a wonderful fish sauce. I use it in many non-asian savory dishes when it just seems like they need a little something to up the umami element.
anh says
I've tried the Mega Chef and Red Boat brands, but haven't tried the IHA yet. Currently using Mega Chef now for everyday cooking and have swapped it out for the Phu Quoc Flying Tiger brand that I used to use which had msg already embedded.
They sell Mega Chef at the Viet stores in Orange County for under $3. Here it isn't considered Premium and is cheaper than 3 crabs brand and Flying Tiger brand fish sauce. Tastes about the same and is cheaper too, that's a win in my book!
Mega Chef doesn't have the msg, but it does however contain sugars in the form of corn syrup and/or high fructose sugars. Because of that, now that I cook with Mega Chef I tend to add very little to no sugars to my cooking since the fish sauce already contains enough sugars. Can't win them all... Red Boat I use for dipping (nuoc mam cham) at the table.
Andrea Nguyen says
Thanks, Cathy. Did Corti Brothers have it?
Andrea Nguyen says
I totally agree on the price and uses of fish sauce!
Andrea Nguyen says
Anh, you're a smart cook. Yes, MegaChef adds a touch of sugar to round out the flavor. It's great that you keep different nuoc mam for different uses.
Andrea Nguyen says
That's not always the case about availability. You are very fortunate.
Andrea Nguyen says
So interesting. In Denver and North Carolina. Here in Northern California, I've yet to see Red Boat at Whole Foods. Who knows, maybe some day.
Andrea Nguyen says
Crazy that Thuan Phat in SGV sells it. At their Westminster Superstore in Orange County, I don't see MegaChef. I can't recall seeing Red Boat.
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Angie says
I recently changed email addresses, so I was catching up on some of your posts. I love this one. I too, look for fish sauces, and other ingredients that don't have all of the other, unnecessary additives to it, so I'll start looking around for these brands. On another similar topic, what about oyster sauces? I can't find a really pure one. Any suggestions for a brand, or alternate product to use in place of the supermarket oyster sauces?
April says
I need new ideas on cooking fish... I wonder if I could find these products in America??? I do know that I want to go fishing in a new boat from Marine Boat Warehous
Flashman says
I found Red Boat in a little Whole Foods-like natural grocery in the East Bay. It was $6 for a tiny bottle. Then I saw it at a Chinese market in Oakland and the large bottle was $4. Long live Asian markets. The bougies are getting soaked.
jim says
if you go to the red boat site, they have a search engine that will show you stores that stock their product, just key in your zip or address.
Norio says
Megachef is available at KP International Market in Sacramento (Rancho Cordova).
chris says
Which oakland chinese market was it? You remember?
Brett Borders says
I've been using Mega chef for a while now, had to drive hours to get it! I just found a bottle of Red Boat at my local Asian store. It has a very clean' pure taste and a long-lasting, sublime umami aftertaste. I stir fried meat and veggies with some Red Boat and a little oyster sauce tonight and it was a very tasty dish. Yum!
Brett Borders says
The best oyster sauce is Megachef brand