Vietnamese Mam Nem Sauce
Sqwertz
the prepared dip itself. It is fermented fish, either in chunks,
or pulverized into a liquid. It is the made from the solids left
over from making nuoc mam (The clear brown vietnamese fish sauce).
It's never meant to be used right out of the bottle (except for
one brand made in Canada which falsely omits ingredients opn the
label).
The bottles (preferred) contain liquid mam nem sauce, often the
solids separate from the sludge. Which is usually OK. Don't buy
dusty bottles. My current bottles are Mam Nem Saigon and Mam Nem
Phu Quuc. I think that denotes liquid style.
Mam nem fish chunks come in 10-12oz wide-mouth jars. They look
like mud sometimes with visible blue skin peeking through the mud
against the inside of the bottle.
Both kinds are generally used in the same amounts, but quality,
saltiness and strength vary. They look like sludge and smell even
worse until you've learned to appreciate them. Mam Ruoc and Mam
Tom (fermented shrimp sauce) may also be used in the same quantity
if liquid, and 2/3rds quantity if pasty. My current brand is the
pasty Lee Kum Kee brand which is pretty easy to find. Mam Tom and
Mam ruoc are the same thing, just different words for northern and
southern Veitnam.
Do not use recipes that tell you to use nuoc mam, Italian anchovy
paste or canned anchovies. I saw this latter in a Vietnamese
cookbook, which is pure blasphemy.
All serious cooks need to know how to prepare and use mam nem and
mam tom/mam rouc. It's one of those "power ingredients" mentioned
in another thread in RFC. The resulting dip fulfills the "Sweet,
Sour, Salty, Pungent" requirement of the perfect Asian food.
Warning: Be careful opening any fermented seafood sauce bottle.
Shit happens:
<http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/browse_frm/thread/dbbcb7e4e856dab7/45840bc1b7b7369a>
That was an Indo/Malay sauce called terasi. I have not had that
problem since. But I haven't bought terasi ever again, preferring
the flattened dried cakes of fermented shrimp (another "power
ingredient")
While it's most commonly used for grilled beef preparations and a
necessary sauce for the famous Vietnamese "7 Courses of Beef"
dinner (Bo bay mon), it's also good with seafood and vegetables.
After years of experimentation, I make the dip as follows:
1 short can of crushed or chunked pineapple
0-3 ts sugar (depends on how sweet the pineapple is)
2 TB rice vinegar
1 TB lime juice
2 regular, or 1 large clove(s) garlic
2-5 red ripe Thai bird chiles
3 tablespoons of mam nem sauce (might start with 2)
Another TB of rice vinegar can be substituted for the lime juice.
Pulverize in blender adding chiles last and process until you can
still see small chunks of red chile. Best to let sit for 4-12
hours in fridge covered with plastic snap lid as fermentation will
restart after adding sugar/pineapple.
Since I needed a vehicle for this sauce tonight (I'm on a
strong-tasting food binge after no solid food for weeks) I fried
up some shrimp in a rice flour/cornstarch batter tonight:
http://img829.imageshack.us/img829/8840/shrimpfriedwithmamnemdi.jpg
(Not pictured was a 1/4 of a papaya to go along with that)
Another perspective of mam nem. And pretty much the other useful
info found on the web:
http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2008/01/mam-nem-vietnamese-fermented-anchovy.html
Any questions?
Nick Cramer
> [ . . . ]
Thanks for a great post and for Wandering Chopsticks' URL.
Your recipe sounds really good, Steve. Since Jun and Sai use Kapee (Thai
fermented shrimp paste), they'll probably know what else to do with Mam
Nem.
--
Nick, KI6VAV. Support severely wounded and disabled Veterans and their
families: https://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/
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Ian
I think I want one of those remotely-operated bomb defuser robots to
open my nahm pla raa bottle, which I think is the same stuff as your Mam
nem sauce. Or maybe I should just go out to the middle of a field with a
raincoat on (though not in 103 degreee weather such as today's).
Cheers,
Ian
Ian
> On Sat, 24 Jul 2010 22:38:54 -0400, Ian wrote:
>
>> I think I want one of those remotely-operated bomb defuser robots to
>> open my nahm pla raa bottle, which I think is the same stuff as your Mam
>> nem sauce. Or maybe I should just go out to the middle of a field with a
>> raincoat on (though not in 103 degreee weather such as today's).
>
> fermentation process. Mam nem and pla ra shouldn't do that.
> Just open it and stop fretting! It can't spoil - it's already
> rotten!
>
> -sw
just having fun with your stories!
blake murphy
> Sqwertz <swe...@cluemail.compost> wrote:
>> [ . . . ]
>> I know you can't tell her what to make, but just try anyway ;-)
>
> If I even ask her about a recipe or ingredient, it's on the table the next
> meal!
you have a tough life, nick.
your pal,
blake
Nick Cramer
Thanks for noticing, Blake. Jun's working today. Before she left, she
showed me all the makings for a cheeseburger. I'll have to cook and
assemble it myself! <sigh>