Colatura di Alici

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Dan- said:
I don’t think the Vietnamese would agree with your fish sauce Reinheitsgebot. 3 Crabs, for example, has sweeteners.
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Right. This was a bit of a tongue-in-cheek remark. I stand by my assessment though that Red Boat 40º N is better than most of the commercial brands that add sweeteners or other ingredients. That doesn't mean that I now despise the cheaper ones.

I still keep a bottle of Squid fish sauce around. The Squid sauce I use when a recipe calls for fish sauce among lots of other ingredients, where the fish sauce isn't the star of the show. There is no point in using the expensive stuff for that. For recipes where the fish sauce is at the forefront, such as a dipping sauce that contains mostly fish sauce, I go for the Red Boat.

The reason I found out about Red Boat 40º N in the first place is this video from Thai Kitchen:



I bought a bottle of the Red Boat and compared it, and was sold. It is markedly different and better than the Squid sauce. That difference is a lot larger than the difference between the Colatura di Alici and Red Boat.
 
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I too have a bottle of Red Boat. It’s the only one I refrigerate. The squid brand and 3 crabs are relegated to the pantry. I actually do use the Red Boat as I advised using the way more expensive colatura earlier, btw. Also they are all delicious in omelettes and scrambled eggs.
 
Michi said:
Seems like I started a bit of trend here. Full disclosure: I bought my bottle of Colatura di Alici on a whim when I spotted it at a gourmet food store. I didn't really know what it was at the time, other than that it was anchovy essence. I really like anchovies, so I figured I'll give this a try.

I love the stuff, it's brilliant. But it's also rather expensive. I paid AUD 30.00 for a 100 ml bottle. I don't regret it, it showed me something I didn't know existed until, after I got home, I worked out what to do with it.

But I also have a bottle of Red Boat 40º N fish sauce in the pantry. After I tasted the colatura, I thought that it tasted a lot like that fish sauce, so I did a side-by-side tasting. The two are remarkably similar. So much so that I have to strain to pick out the differences. The colatura is simpler and "cleaner" in flavour profile, and maybe a touch saltier. The Red Boat is "darker' in aroma (slightly more woody/earthy notes) and, if anything, a touch more complex, interesting, and intense. I'm talking very minor differences here. It's not easy to tell them apart, even side by side.

The pertinent point: I can buy 500 ml of Red Boat 40º N for AUD 18.00. To put it differently, I get nearly a quart of Red Boat for the cost of 100 ml of colatura. I have not tried this yet, but I bet that, if I make the same spaghetti with the Red Boat sauce, I won't be able to tell the difference, even in a side-by-side tasting.

If you want to get the colatura experience without shelling out the money for it, try the Red Boat 40º N fish sauce. You'll have something very, very close to the more expensive version.

Caveat: Not all fish sauces are created equal. Have a look at the label of whatever fish sauce you have. If it contains anything other than anchovies and salt, it isn't fish sauce. And, yes, I have done side-by-side tastings of run-of-the-mill fish sauces, such as Squid and Ayam, and Red Boat 40º N. There is a big difference.
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I’m a big fan of Red Boat.
 
mengwong said:
Have ordered. Now waiting for my ship to come in, as it were. Excited!

On the theme of Asian substitutions I’m planning to try khao khua instead of breadcrumbs.

(And if I switch out the pasta for rice noodles I suppose it’s not really a Western dish any more lol)
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interesting!

which reminds me to give making that a try again....first time it was going nowhere (difficulty getting it toasted through and through made for impossibly hard grains I was unable to grind with mortar and pestle so I ditched it....reading the recipe it just dawned on me I can use my spare espresso grinder to grind it up (the reference to the grind for coffee not espresso made me connect the two dots).
 
When the wife loves it but your zester is in storage

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Good thing I have at least one sharp knife
 
for Gremolata I typically cut lemon peel very thin using the Markin petty, to then cut it in Julienne before dicing it. That way it somehow feels more symmetrical ;-)
 
So this is basically Italian fish sauce? Is this in any way related to garum?
 
'Red boat fish sauce' sounds like a rather misogynist reference...
 
The former yes... but like most jokes it's not funny at all when you have to explain it.
It's probably also one of those things you only find funny if you have a very associative brain... like 'mariachi gap'.
 
Unfortunately, many idioms and plays on words are untranslatable without completely losing what they are about. The cultural context is essential to what makes them work.
 
So, wife’s verdict: she prefers this brand – Liên Thành – to Red Boat. It has less perceived salt and more complexity of flavour, probably due to more additives and whatnot, plus fish other than anchovies. What came through for me was a bit of Marmite. They also make a vegetarian version. For the next time you’re at an Asian grocery…

https://lienthanh1906.vn/nuoc-mam-man/
 

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...vegetarian... fish sauce.
...
🤷‍♂️
I should probably toss that Red Boat sauce on my shopping list; haven't screed around with fish sauce in a while but might be worth a go; I always just used that standard squid sauce stuff in the past.
 
mengwong said:
So, wife’s verdict: she prefers this brand – Liên Thành – to Red Boat. It has less perceived salt and more complexity of flavour, probably due to more additives and whatnot, plus fish other than anchovies. What came through for me was a bit of Marmit
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I had a good look, and can't find it online anywhere in Australia. I'll keep an eye out for it next time I go to the Asian shopping centre.
 
Michi said:
Good video on how to make it. Also has a lot of interesting historical notes.

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I count myself lucky having a GF who accepts my crazy hobbies such as ridiculous audio experiments and my coffee science lab as well as cooking extravaganza's....I doubt if she would go for DIY Garum ;-)
 
MarcelNL said:
I count myself lucky having a GF who accepts my crazy hobbies such as ridiculous audio experiments and my coffee science lab as well as cooking extravaganza's....I doubt if she would go for DIY Garum ;-)
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I think mine would be okay with it, because she is absolutely addicted to Steamed Pork Cake With Salt Fish. Normally she steers clear of exotica, but that hasn't stopped her from adoring a dish that is generally regarded as food for old Cantonese people.
 
Jovidah said:
'Red boat fish sauce' sounds like a rather misogynist reference...
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This is one of the things that absolutely infuriates me. A statement like this without any effort to look at the history of the Red Boat Brand. The story is absolutely amazing.

This is the original Red Boat which Cuong Pham sailed from Vietnam at the end of the Vietnam war in the late 1970's. It took him 9 months to sail Red Boat to San Francisco. He wound up as a top technical consultant with Apple.

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MarcelNL said:
just for the fun of it I'll add some Garum to todays Pizza sauce .....San Marzano di Nocerino D.O.P
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Believe me it works, also Spaghetti sauce, Chili, beef Stew, a roast beef sandwich, a hamburger, with sour cream for a baked potato. Actually using it on a Pizza in place of "fish" (anchovies). etc, etc, etc..........................etc
 
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