This is how fish sauce ນ້ໍາປາ is made

Video Credit:  How It's Made

In southeast Asian cooking, your pantry of ingredients is not complete without fish sauce.  In Lao, it's called nam pa  ນ້ໍາປາ.  It's used in Lao cuisine to help give a savoury, salty note to any food.  It's often used in place of adding just regular salt.

Of course, its ubiquity in Lao food isn't its claim to fame, rather its smell is what people often mention.  Yes, it's smelly.  But what it adds to the flavour of the food makes it well worth the odour.  And in truth, when you cook with it, the smell mellows out.

For those who eat smelly cheese, if you can deal with eating that then you can certainly deal with a bit of fish sauce.

The video above shows how its made.  Have a look.