Customer Reviews

Tiparos Thai Fish Sauce 23 Oz. X 2 Blt.

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was raised on this brand of fish sauce. To me, Tiparos is the greatest brand. You can't get any better than this. Add a couple squirts to raw eggs, then scramble them in a pan, and eat with fresh, hot, white rice. That's quick and delicious. We use fish sauce to cook all of our Thai meals and marinate beef and chicken for various dishes. For me, there is no other.

... were a basic flavoring ingredient in the cuisine of ancient Rome and Etruria, used as widely as The Chinese use soya sauce or the Americans use catsup. It may be something of a surprise that the same fish sauce is one of the necessary elements of the Southeast Asian cookery, from Burma to the Philippines. The clear pungent liquid is called 'ngapi' in Burmese, 'nam pla' in Thai, 'nuoc nam' in Vietnamese 'yu chiap' in Chinese, and 'patis' in Tagalog. Tiparos is a good brand, and this is a proper price.

The Thais serve "prik nam pla" as a condiment on the table for every meal. It's simple 'fish sauce' with chopped Thai chilis, those little hot devils, and chopped coriander weed, commonly called 'cilantro' in parts of the USA. It's indispensable. You can judge the authenticity of a Thai restaurant by whether you are served prik nam pla automatically, or have to ask for it, or can't even get it. In the latter case, you are ethically authorized to walk out without paying your bill.

Likewise, any Thai or Vietnamese cookbook that doesn't discuss the uses of fish sauce would be better reserved for starting campfires.

As I said, the Romans used the same stuff, which they called LIQUAMEN. My guess is that as the Empire was transformed by immigration from the north, especially via Gaul, fish sauce was replaced by sea salt and rock salt. The Haida, Tlingit, and Kwakiutl peoples of the Pacific Northwest used the oil squeezed from candlefish for a similar taste treat. That oil was so valuable as a trade item that wars were fought over it.

Soya sauce is NOT an adequate substitute, whatever your Betty Crocker cookbook says. But now you can get fish sauce anywhere you choose to live. I'm still getting accustomed to the implications of internet shopping. Imagine this: I can get a novel by Roberto Bolaños, a DVD opera by Monteverdi, and a bottle of Tiparos nam pla, all in one package delivered to my door by the US Postal Service.

If you are planning on making some thai recipes at home this is the best Thai fish sauce money can buy. Add some sugar, some water, mint cilantro and chilies and you'll have a staple of Thai cooking, serve that dressing with Spring rolls, Thai noodles and even brussels sprouts and you'll have a hit! Check out my blog for a nice recipe using that stuff.

I first heard about fish sauce from Giada De Laurentiis. She took a break from the 'Everyday Italian' to do some Thai food. Based on what she said, it seemed that Fish Sauce could be an easy proxy substitute for Anchovies in almost any simple application.

I personally dislike anchovies, and don't like working with them. With that said, their particular glutamic acids are essential to the flavor certain recipes... like Cuban Paella or Puttanesca sauce. I decided to purchase some in the hopes that I could forget about wasting half-full tins of anchovies for odd recipes I rarely make.

Wow! This sauce is pretty spectacular. I think it has a lot more punch and much better flavor than mere anchovies, so use sparingly, but use often. I am now planning to try a lot of anchovy recipes that I was formerly avoiding. No reason to avoid them now.

Try combining this with Sesame Chili oil for a real flavor booster.

This is much higher quality and much less expensive than the Thai Kitchen fish sauce in my local supermarket.
I use it in almost everything: it enhances the fish flavor of any fish preparation or sauce to go with fish. In dishes that don't have fish in them it acts as a great flavor enhancer. I'm hooked for life! The only thing I regret is not ordering two units (total of four bottles).
Haven't tried cooking Thai food yet-I just use it for all my cooking.

Here is a common recipe that shows the possibilities of fish sauce, Chicken and Holy Basil. This is my favorite version, there are many others.

Ingredients:
The proportions of ingredients are strictly to your taste. My wife and I will use one large chicken breast, a whole bell pepper and a medium onion. Too much chicken makes the dish too meaty for my taste, but as long as it cooks uniformly there's no right or wrong.

1-2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into about 1" strips pieces. I prefer all natural or organic, never frozen. It costs more but tastes much better. You can also add another chicken breast or two to scale up the recipe. If you prefer, you can also cut the chicken into julienne pieces or even 1-2" cubes. It tastes great however you do it!
1 bell pepper, seeded and cut into thin strips. I prefer yellow, as it's sweeter than green. If you want more vegetables, add another pepper or more onion. Just increase the sauce a little bit.
3-4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
1 small to medium onion cut into thin slices
1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and sliced thin. You can use Thai peppers or even serrano peppers if you like it more fiercely hot. The amount of pepper controls the heat. You can omit these if you don't have the palate for spicy.
1 cup fresh basil leaves. If you can actually get Thai basil this is best, but any will do, the fresher the better. Feel free to add extra, particularly if you are increasing the amount of chicken and vegetables.
Sauce (this can be doubled or tripled quite easily, to increase the amount of sauce with your dish):
1 tbsp black soy (in Asian specialty shops)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp white vinegar
1/2 to 2 tbs Tiparos fish sauce - The amount you use really controls the flavor of the dish. If you want it more authentic, use the higher amount; if you want it more tame, the smaller amount.

Directions:
1. On medium high heat, heat about 2 tbsp cooking oil in your wok until hot
2. Add peppers, garlic and onion. Saute a few minutes until they soften
3. Add chicen. Saute until almost cooked through. If you use previously frozen chicken, or over cook at this point, the chicken will be tough.
4. Add sauce and saute until chicken it is just cooked through.
5. Turn off heat. Add basil leaves, and stir until they wilt.
6. Serve imediately with freshly cooked jasmine rice.

Erica Asahan wrote:

I don't think a meal is as good with out Tiparos! The flavor that this sauce adds to the taste of chicken, rice and eggs is so great!

I am the primary cook in our home and have developed a taste for Thai food during my business travels. No local restaurants fill this niche so I researched some recipes and found a few that looked good - but they required fish sauce (among other hard to find ingredients). Ordered this from Amazon and although I have no basis for saying whether this is a good or bad quality product, the recipes turned out top notch. Greatly exceeded my expectations. Although this fish sauce was only one of many ingredients, it played a part in the final menu so I will rate it as such.

On the down side - I think it is pricey for what it is and the seller shows no mercy on shipping. It is probably manufactured for penny's a gallon but I guess it goes back to supply and demand and where I live, there is no local supply.

This item is great. They shipped it fast, it was well packaged. I have enjoyed using this item. Thanks

I love this brand of fish sauce, it's tasty and not over powering. I did dock it a star because it contains sugar. Most fish sauces do I've only found one brand that doesn't. other than that this nuc mam is awesome.