Pardon my cultural bias...

[illuki]

But who the hell came up with the foul idea of fish sauce?! Bleah! Was it originally some sort of nasal torture device before the brilliant idea to use it in cooking came about? ...Don't even get me started on that one. *continues eating her stirfry...made with fish sauce*

Comments

Don't blame me.

[takiaizawa]

Blame the Romans.

Re: Don't blame me.

[illuki]

Noted. And blamed. ^_^

[minerva710]

They called it garum, or liquamen. They packed equal parts fish chum and salt in a massive clay jar and allowed it to sit in the hot sun for several months until fermented. Then shake it up, strain it through some cheese cloth to get the lingering bones and scales out, and voila! Roman ketchup. Eat it on everything. (aparently, it had a delicate, salty flavor, far less nasty than it sounded). It seems it was invented separately in Asia, but all the crazy people who want to adapt Roman recipes say to use it as the only remotely viable alternative.