Thai Chef Reviews Expensive Fish Sauce
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 พ.ค. 2024
- Is expensive fish sauce worth the money? In this video I taste test 4 different premium “first press” fish sauces on the market to find out!
FISH SAUCES REVIEWED
Abalone Fish Sauce amzn.to/46USUCh
Red Boat Original 40N amzn.to/3v07Odh
Red Boat Maple Bourbon: redboatfishsauce.com/collecti...
*Royal Squid is no longer available online in the US from where we got it. It appears to be available in the UK.
MY ORIGINAL FISH SAUCE REVIEW: • Ultimate Guide to FISH...
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00:00 Introduction
00:56 What is "First Press" fish sauce?
02:30 The Contenders
04:41 Colour and smell test
06:25 Test 1 - Straight up
10:14 Protein content in fish sauce
10:41 Is sugar in fish sauce bad?
11:31 Test 2: Raw in a Condiment
16:40 Test 3: Cooked in a stir fry
22:36 The Final Takeaway
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About Pai:
Pailin “Pai” Chongchitnant is the author of the Hot Thai Kitchen cookbook, co-host of a Canadian TV series One World Kitchen on Gusto TV, and creator and host of the TH-cam channel Pailin's Kitchen.
Pai was born and raised in southern Thailand where she spent much of her "playtime" in the kitchen. She traveled to Canada to study Nutritional Sciences at the University of British Columbia, and was later trained as a chef at Le Cordon Bleu culinary school in San Francisco.
After working in both Western and Thai professional kitchens, she decided that her passion really lies in educating and empowering others to cook at home via TH-cam videos, her cookbook, and cooking classes. She currently lives in Vancouver, and goes to Thailand every year to visit her family. Visit her at hot-thai-kitchen.com - แนวปฏิบัติและการใช้ชีวิต
We use Red boat for the way it's made. The fishes are salted right away on the boat out in the sea, hence the freshness retention. And the owner is American Vietnamese and scientifically inclined. Bravo to your well executed video on this subject.
You know it is STRONG when a Thai says: " *cough* this is very intense" 😁😁
Now this was a THOROUGH taste test. Short of having multiple taste testers, this was probably as exhaustive a treat as you could do. Amazing work!
Since the Red Boat sauce has twice the amount of protein compared to other brands, you can just use half the amount of the sauce to get the same umami-enhancing effect. That would also help in reducing the amount of salt in your food, which is healthier. To me, that is a win-win.
Two good points! For me, a little decent fish sauce goes a long way in a dish.
she made tasting FISH SAUCE interesting. what a talent
You really deserve a fish sauce sommelier medal for this one. I think I’ll be looking for an abalone at the Samrong market tomorrow. Yes, I’m in Bangkok right now and loving it. I also love the description, funky fish sauce!
That's exactly what I thought as I watched this- a 'fish sauce sommelier"!
Big C, Lotus and even 7/11 should carry it and it costs less than 50 Baht a bottle.
Dont spill it in your car, you will have to sell it! Haha
@@frankcherry3810Remember back in the old days when one had to export fish sauce in flight in his own luggage ? What can go wrong?😖
As a Thai, I would say Abalone makes the best fish sauce at the moment. Though, if you look in the detail you will find that these are actually made by the same company who makes คนแบกกุ้ง brand (Rayong Fish Sauce Co.). The taste is very elegant and SUPER umami. Like P'Pai said, the umami lingers very long in your mouth and honestly it does not taste fishy at all. All in all, since the flavor is very delicate and nice I would suggest you reserve this fish sauce for dips and salads.
Here, it's Red Boat, all the way. I find, I get the best results if I 'build' the ingredients around it. Sometimes more, rarely less.
Took delivery of your two Cook Books the other day. My family and I are enjoying the meals very much.
I've been using Squid Brand since 1970 when I was first introduced to Thai cooking by my university roommate who was Thai. I see no reason to pay more for something I already love. IMO, Thai condiments/ingredients work in harmony with a recipe and not dominate. Why anyone would want to Bourbon notes to a Thai recipe is beyond me. I gave away my lifetime of pla ra to anyone who like that. Thanks.
I have tried that Red Boat Maple Bourbon previously, it was tasty but not something I'd use routinely. The regular Red Boat is my go-to fish sauce. Big umami & no sugar or other additives.
Can you do a taste test of all the different countries' soy sauces to see if you can tell the difference/which soy sauce is from which country?
My daughter got me a bottle of Haku Mizunara whiskey barrel aged shoyu for Christmas last year. Very tasty . And very different from regular soy sauce.
Soy sauces will vary heavily within countries too. There are different types of soy sauces!
@@Call-me-Al That was my point... Comparing and contrasting the different types
She has several videos about soy sauce
@@sparkchild82 I know lol, but I'm wondering if the country of origin is truly detectable in a dish
Red boat is my go to. I can always add sugar to the dish if needed.
Pinneberg Germany, here: I used Squid, then found Megachef (golden label) and finally Red Boat after your test back then. Our "Asia Markt" here in Pinneberg apologized for charging 12,90€ for the RB. Found 2 offers online: 10 and 14€ (plus shipping). But that was 250ml. And theirs is 500ml.
I even posted our local fish monger your recipe "new crab fried rice", a while ago. 'Cause they are offering meals at their shop.
And I've tried the different oyster sauces, even with our neighbours.
Thanks for this update! I'll stay tuned!
Red Boat is going the Colatura di Alici di Cetara road, so Colatura di Alici is could be an alternative.
Because of you, I purchased the Red Boat a few years back. I love it and I can't go back. I use it only for dipping/raw sauces now. I also tried the 3 Crabs Viet Huong (again because of you) and I use that for cooking. Both are great!
I started with regular squid ages ago. Once i tasted "3 crabs" there was no going back for me. Thanks for bringing some other brands on the table.
I'm Thai living in Thailand wanna taste the 3 crabs so baddddd 😢😢😢
@@nubiaxarea298 drop me a PN, i send you a bottle, no Problem.
Drop me a PN, i send you a bottle. Same for Pai if she wants one. 🌻@@nubiaxarea298
Here's an insider tip from Vietnam, dear Pailin & audience. We don't consider Red Boat to be the best tasting fish sauce brand 😉. Maybe some Northerners do, but Southerners like me don't. It's kind of mediocre and overpriced. Our favourite go-to is "Phú Quốc" - that's how the export label is called. In Vietnam it's called "Hưng Thành". Fish sauce from the island of Phú Quốc is generally considered to be the best
As a Thai, I never really cared for fish sauce until I discovered Abalone. 😂 It’s a little pricier than the rest (not that much tbh) but it just tastes so much better. ❤
As a Thai,About 20 years ago on Silom Rd.Bangkok I tried Abalone because of the pharmacist .Yes,the old man said that his relative makes it and recommended that I should definitely try it .He sold me OTC in his pharmacy shop from now on I only use Abalone even if the double price.
Whenever there's a comparison between some "premium" seasoning and its regular version, it's always "use the pemium as a condiment and cook with the regular". It doesn't surprise me at all that it's the same conclusion this time. I more often than not cook with fish sauce, so I go for cheap ones. My go-to brand is Oyster since it only has three ingredients in it, namely anchovies, salt and sugar, and no other chemicals you can't even pronounce. IIt's also cost-effective as a 700 mL bottle only costs about HK$20, or no more than US$3.
I had a bottle of (regular, not premium) squid I was using for the past few months, when I needed to replace it I went with Red Boat and it's great as I tend to use fish sauce which is through dishes like curries or soups since the umami has a bit more staying power. I do think the red boat is a little too strong to use 'straight up', but that isn't my usual use case - I may have to pick up a bottle of abelone for that. Thanks for the amazing content as always!
These are definitely my favorite videos from you! Just so much fun watching you try different things and hearing your thoughts about them.
Great review. I hope you hydrated after this test! We’re hooked on Red Boat and have enjoyed it for years. Thank you!
Abalone is my fav for dipping sauce. Always in my pantry and table❤
Thankyou for your continual amazing passion that is so addictive to all of us following your channels. .. couldn’t go back to life without you !! Happy new year 🥳
Your hand arching at 19:58 is priceless. Your upbeat personality is infectious, and your enthusiasm for sharing your knowledge inspiring. The kitchen in this video compared to the original fish sauce one is dreamy. Keep up the good work!
-Geoff in Vancouver
I’m only at the tasting bit, but I feel like Abalone would maybe be my go-to for anything where I really wanted the fish sauce to shine through, like a raw application like a salad. Something where I could appreciate the taste a lot, especially given what you said about the sugar. Squid is also my favourite brand of fish sauce, though, so I’m a little sad that their premium probably wouldn’t be my go-to. But you’re really selling me on the Abalone. I haven’t even tasted it, but I already feel like I know how it tastes, and it’s good.
The Maple Bourbon… scares me… and I just saw your reaction to it, so… it seems warranted. Lol
Also… I might be wrong, but… did you specially select your tasting spoons based on the fish sauce that would go with it? Like the sort of golden spoon for the most premium, or maybe your favourite of the spoons for the squid brand since it’s you’re favourite? Maybe I’m wrong, but that feels so you. And it’s definitely something I would do. Lol I love my tiny implements, too.😊
I love these testing videos, they're so helpful!
Wonderful, wonderful video... Clear, analytical, rational and logical in the approach to something that can be so subjective (as taste can be). Thanks so much for this Pai! 😍
my family always used the 3 crabs brand and I still use it today but someone did give me some of the red boat as a gift and I think I agree with the conclusion in your video. the premium tastes better in uncooked sauces (slightly) but when cooking I always use the 3 crabs brand or squid brand
Another phenomenal, fascinating and very useful video. Thank you, as always, for your devoted service! 🙏🏽
Dude, you really took one for the team making this video! I'll definitely check out the Red Boat and I even see my local Costco carrying it. I've been using the Three Crabs brand almost exclusively since your last video, which prompted me to do my own taste test. Thanks!!!
Are you on the west/east coast, Canada...? Because here in my regional Midwest costcos, I've never seen Red Boat but I have heard that it's at Costco.
This was so much fun to watch and so interesting! Thank you!!! I'm definitely sharing this video.
Great video, been following your channel since shortly after it's inception. You helped me solve my curry problems back then after years of failure. Indebted!
I've done this same type of test in my home with groups of people. So this video has great meaning to me.
I also live less than 10 miles away from where Red Boat quietly has their
"Family Reserve" and other products aged and packaged by BLIS gourmet. Found that out about 2 years ago, already having been a fish sauce drinker for over 20 years😂. And I agree, all levels of fish sauce have their place in different dishes.
South east Asian food is a powerful desire in my life. Travelled extensively pursuing it. Thank you for your great work and continued inspiration.
I love these types of videos!!
3 crabs whenever I feel like a millionaire. Squid whenever I feeling normal.
Thanks for the in-depth review! I want to try them all now.
It’s so fun to learn about Thai cuisines with you. Thank you!
Thank you so much, I've been wanting to get something fancier for my kitchen and appreciate your input. Looking forward to exploring the rest of your channel, I've been getting back into the kitchen and really enjoying some video content.
I imagine the stronger one is good for marinating meat especially the one with bourbon.
Thanks for the video! I always don't know what to cook until I check out your channel. Thanks for all the ideas, recipes and inspirations. All your explanations in all videos are very very helpful.
If you have a video editor please make all your long video to short videos as well. It is good for visual learner like me after I have gone to your detail videos, sometimes I'm in a hurry and need quick review of your recipe. The short videos will be very handy. This is just my opinion.
Very interesting. I bought a regular Red Boat bottle a while ago, at the price of good champagne, so I use it carefully. A vietnamese lady in Paris introduced me to the Phu Quoc nuoc mam and I appreciate it a lot, so it is my regular one from now on. Asian stores in Paris provide it even in big bottles.
Thanks Pai, an interesting and very thorough experiment in taste profiles and how they suit different uses! ❤❤
I love these videos and I'm always so glad to see you make them.
Thank you so much for making these videos, you are my favorite love your tips love your joie de vivre, I've tried many of your recipies and they are so good , Thai food is my favorite as I travel in Thailand every winter I am in Chiang Mai right now. I'm from Montreal so it's too cold for me in the winter.
I am using my second bottle of Red boat. V umami. Thanks for sharing the invaluable tips on fish sauces.
Thank you for this wonderful video! I've used Red Boat for years, but now I'll look for the Abalone sauce.
Excellent presentation! Thank you!
This was a great video! Very helpful.
This is a very long video, for your doing. But I am very glad you made it. I have been “struggling“ with fish sauce for years now. And have obviously been overspending on Red Boat since your previous fish sauce video. Now I’m more savvy. Thanks.
This was very helpful. Thank you!
I bought a bottle of the Red Boat when it was on sale and found that my family actually noticed a difference. I had been using Abalone. In Larp I think the stronger Red boat was really special.
Here at home, we use Abalone strictly for dipping sauce or dressings since it really is more an umami than seasoning, and it’s a lot less salty than the regular fish sauce. So we don’t use that for cooking. It’s too expensive to use on cooking.
i love your breakdown of all of these fish sauces
I’m so surprised Squid is your fish sauce of choice. We made it about halfway through the bottle and finally decided we had to throw it out. Red boat is the only brand in our home😂
Same! I think it must be due to what she grew up with. Red boat is the GOAT!
Agree with Red Boat, and it does not have sugar so healthier ...
Yup. I think using Red Boat in the same amount as weaker fish sauces is a mistake, too. It's a lot of flavor in an easy to store and long lasting bottle.
My mom who’s been a chef for over 30+ years prefers to use Squid because she said it’s more saltier and flavorful for cooking, but I prefer cooking with three crabs. Just personal preference.
It's like for the people who don't use "seasoned" rice vinegar. Let the cook blend the flavorings and control the sugar. Great episode. I use Red Boat, but I don't have $30 bucks for the super premium. Thank you for an information forward taste test. Those WERE huge eggs!
Wonderful video. Very helpful! Thanks
This taste test was very interesting, I use fish sauce frequently and always have a hard time selecting a good one at the store, I learned more with your video, thank you!!
This is so educational and professional
Here in Thailand the Squid Premium can be bought for as little as 34 baht (for a 300M bottle) about 97 cents and the regular 16 baht, 46 cents. Never seen the Red Boat brand in the supermarkets. The Abalone brand is available for 45 Baht about 1.29 USD. Most Thais seem to make do with the ordinary cheap versions.
Red boat has been my go to for a while now. It's strong, but I've grown to really love that strong fish sauce flavor. Somehow it feels like it really amps up the food more than the other fish sauce I used before. I probably need to try some of these Thai brands, though.
Squid has been my go to fish sauce for a couple of decades, but now I have a Red Boat 50 in the fridge, along with a Nap Pla ra from Isaan with river fish rather than anchovies. I use both sauces in Prik Nam Pla, and in various cooked dishes both Asian and from other cultures, including Italian American, Polish, etc. It's all good, and whatever works, works. I should mention that I use a bourbon and oak body wash which is nice, but not a big deal. I will look up Abalone brand and possibly try that also one of these days.
Great reporting and thank you!
I found this very interesting. When I shop at the grocery store, I can chose 'fish sauce" or "no fish sauce" but at the Asian market, I'm confronted with a bewildering array of choices - although I don't believe "aged in bourbon barrels" is one of them. I think I will do better thanks to your guidance. Thank you for sharing.
I love this in-depth review of fish sauce :)
Gotta try the Abalone brand now! Thanks, Pai!
Great video. Me and my wife love your Prik nam pla recipe, so if I see Abalone, I'll get it just for that. I've been using the normal green capped Squid brand since I was a kid, it's just a staple in my house like Ketchup, mayo or mustard.
Tq so much, Pailin ! ❤😊
We have found that the premium squid made a substantial difference to curries (your red and green recipes). It just makes a nicer finished product that is better balanced in overall flavour. Here in OZ it's a difference of maybe $1 from regular squid so it's a no brainer for us. We are new to cooking Thai but really are starting to do well, and using these quality ingredients makes a huge difference. I'll look out for Abalone, thanks for the video these ingredient comparison videos are gold.
And a dollar per bottle translates into pennies per serving?
For Red Boat, I took Andrea Nguyen’s advice and use less than what a recipe calls for since it is so strong - usually 1/2 to 2/3 and it works well.
I love these fish sauce videos. I'm curious if Adam has a favorite fish sauce brand. 😄
Great stuff, saved me some cash there, I use the regular Squid for my cooking and I'm very pleased with it for my stir fry's 😊
Thanks Khun Pailin. It's very informative. I'll definately try Abalony Brand. The color looks delicious!!
Wow! Fascinating... I wanna try ALL of them now!😁 On my Christmas list!
So well done!
This was really interesting! It actually makes me wonder if you could boost the savoriness of the regular, non first press fish sauce in cooked applications by adding a bit of a fish based bouillon. I always have anchovy bouillon as well as hondashi on hand. I may try adding a pinch of the anchovy bouillon to my fish sauce the next time I make a dish that's very fish sauce forward to see how it comes out.
I sometimes add a pinch of chicken stock powder to chicken dishes for that extra boost of flavor (e.g. chicken porridge) so doing the same with fish would work out well IMO
I picked up the abalone on my last trip to Bangkok. It’s been sitting in my cupboard for months, as I was not sure how best to use it. Your video inspired me! Gonna use it for my next batch of prik nam pla!
Very useful. Thank you.
Another excellent, entertaining and informative video!
Thank you for tasting all of those sauces so I don't have to. I was cringing the entire time. I don't like seafood but use fish sauce when cooking Thai and Chinese food for the umami background flavor. Could not imagine just swallowing a teaspoon of it straight.
very interesting comparison, it illustrates the importance - or lack thereof - of premium ingredients depending on the context in which you use them.
Thanks for another super thorough review! I love that Red Boat, but I will get the Abalone to use as a condiment. What is it that I like about Red Boat? Well, I used it in green curry, and it did not overwhelm with fishy-ness, but had a strong anchovy bottom flavor that was the last flavor to linger. I love anchovies, especially the Italian salted ones, and yes, I do like them on pizza, lol. Have you ever tried smoked salted kippers (herring)? So good with eggs for breakfast...great substitute for bacon. They are dried, and you don't have to heat them up. Addictive.
I've just bought some Red Boat and I love it for my green curry, also I had kippers and eggs for breakfast today!
Very helpful, thank you!
Thank you so much Pailin for doing all testing the fish sauce brands.I never know how the fish sauce is ranking from regular to premium.I thought they all the same.😊❤❤❤
I've been on the Red Boat boat for some time now and really like it, using it in various non-Asian dishes too (stews, soups, even chile). I recently picked up Son fish sauce after reading about it on line. The sodium content is 60% and protein is 5%, so it's probably closer to RB flavor-wise. Anyone else tried this brand? Planning to add some Abalone if I can find it! Thanks for another great informative video!
Im glad you made this video.
I was very happy to see Red Boat in this line up as I've been buying them for well over a decade. I'm a big label reader and don't like a lot of "extra" ingredients in things that don't need that extra garbage. I've seen a dozen ingredients on something like cottage cheese, so buyer beware. You never know what they add to things to that shouldn't have extra
Really interesting. I use 3 sauces for cooking Thai and related cooking, Squid brand pleb fish sauce, kikkoman all purpose soy sauce and whatever Indonesian style dark sweet soy sauce I can find. I can see using these expensive fish sauces for dipping sauce recipes. Thanks Pailin.
Thank you so much for such an interesting tasting.
Great post ❤
Love videos like this!
So helpful!!
Thank for the info have a Merry Christmas 🎄🎁 and happy new 🆕🎉🆕
love regular Red Boat and use it all the time, but it being so strong I do reduce what the recipe suggests a bit, it can easily overpower a dish IMO. That being said, I just ordered a bottle of Abalone which will show up tomorrow, having something a bit less strong is going to be handy.
I'm not going to spend $30 on a burbon maple fish sauce though, neither of those flavors have anything to do with Thai (or Asian in general) cooking. Seems like it's targeted for the US so called "fancy food" market, costing a lot more w/o really delivering value for $. Is there a single Thai recipe that calls for maple syrup or burbon? I can't quite imagine.
Interesting video! Just the color difference was quite astounding.
Isn’t that just aged in maple (wood) bourbon barrels? No syrup, I think. I agree with your conclusion anyway though.
I find that it only matters when you use fish sauce to make a sauce…ie Hmong pepper sauce or the like..again just my .02
I finally bought Squid during my most recent trip to Bangkok last November. My go-to brand has always been ทิพรส, but I got curious about Squid (along with mushroom soy sauce) because of your videos. I haven’t opened rhe Squid one yet because I still have a huge bottle of ทิพรส open, but I look forward to taste it.
Red Boat, I also learned about it from your old video - so I bought one last July when I was in Vietnam. And wow: the stuff is awesome. That was just the less expensive one so now I’m also curious about the maple-aged one. I was planning to buy Red Boat again when I go back to Vietnam on vacation later this month.
Also, a little trivia about Filipino fish sauce (which we call “patis”).
In the last decade or so, we’ve seen a lot of products marked as patis-flavored sauce, which we assumed was also patis
Turns out, we have legal standards about what is considered fish sauce vs. “simulated” ones (which then need tobe labeled patis-flavored). And since it seems production of fish sauce has become expensive here, from what I understand, patis-flavored sauce has become common, too.
So I’ve taken to really checking the labels because they often look the same here and buy specific classic brands. This is also why I stock up on nam pla when I travel to Thailand. Authentic fish sauce is way superior.
This is such a cool video, but also becsuse I'm looking for a shrimp paste substitute and I'm thinking the red boat maple bourbon may be a good one to try since its so funky 😊 these all look sooo interesting- I want them all 😂
Thank you for reviewing top brands
As a Thai, I have all of these and have to say Abalone beats it out of the park! Crazy good. A close second for me is Healthy Boy Brand’s Premium fish sauce. It tastes so pure, clean, and almost refreshing. I had my family and friends (Thai, Lao, and white) blind taste test HBB against Red Boat and all 9 people liked HBB more. However, it could be different if we used them in cooking instead.
With some Vietnamese friends, I was able to compare them all side by side, color, smell and taste, and I was amazed by the results. Three Crabs is very popular but I found it to be one of my least favorites with a perfume taste. Red boat 40N was may absolute favorite and now I won't use anything else.
Wow, great video. I will use this information in my next fish sauce debate with my in-laws. I wonder if some of the fancy bourbon or hickory varieties are more suited as a gift to impress someone, a bit like a fine wine that you cellar but never drink.
As a condiment, 95 ml. Abalone sold cheap as 1$ in any Thailand 7-11 is the perefect size. Next hot souvenir.
Love ya, Pailin! ❤
I like Red Boat. I use it as a condiment mostly. I put it on buttered grits. Sometimes straight up in steamed rice and fried egg. It's my secret weapon in gumbo. Shhhhh... don't tell my hubby.
well from your last fish sauce video, we tried the Squid brand, and we liked it . we dropped the three Carbs and never look back. no need to change,