In the West, it is simply “fish sauce,” and often regarded as an Eastern tradition. In Tagalog, this is patis, cousin to nuoc mam in Vietnam and nam pla in Thailand. My mother, having grown up in the Philippines, was more at ease with the concept of tiny, oily fish packed in salt and left to slowly decompose (the high concentration of salt inhibits the growth of harmful bacteria) until they yield their liquid essence, which is used both in cooking and as a condiment, lending a note thrillingly close to rot, of dank earth and the deepest sea. (Cilantro above all he despised.) But I don’t think he ever inspected the label on that Lea & Perrins bottle, which would have revealed to him the presence of fermented glutamate-rich anchovies, a food that in no other form was allowed to cross the threshold of our house. My father was an exacting eater and suspicious of certain ingredients.
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