Surprisingly, I'm making some Pho Soup right now, and fish sauce is one of the principal flavors of the soup. I'm not Asian, but I've heard from a Vietnamese friend that it's made by placing cooked fish in a strainer and catching the juices as they drip out. She also told me that the smellier the fish sauce the more it costs. So I buy the cheap ones
At a local Pho Soup restaurant, the owner told me his was better then the one from the restaurant across the street, so is that because of the fish sauce he uses? The ingredients as so very simple, that makes the fish sauce come to mind.
I have a bottle labeled:
Nuoc Mam Nhi
Thuong Hang
Viet Nam
Shrimp and Crab Brand
Premium Quality
Fish Sauce
that's made in Thailand. The ingredients say Anchovy Extract, Water, Salt, Fructose & Hydrolysed Wheat Protein.