Now some of you may look upon me as rather odd consuming litre after litre of Thai fermented fish sauce. It's made by packing anchovies and salt in big ceramic jars, setting the jars out in the tropic sun for almost a year and letting the anchovies digest in their own digestive enzymes. Then the liquid is drawn off and bottled.

This is, of course, just as the Romans made their garum, and the Greeks before them, but who would willingly consume this sort of awful potion today?

Well, probably you would. Check out your bottle of Lea & Perrins Worchestershire Sauce. the first ingredient after the sweeteners is "ANCHOVIES". It doesn't tell you what was done to those poor little anchovies, but I can tell you. Fermented fish sauce it is me hearties!

Now the Thai cuisine handles vinegar, fish sauce, sugar, tamarinds, garlic, cloves, chilis and shallots as fresh ingredients, but the check list is the same (except for the preservatives, hydrolized vegetable protein and high fructose corn syrup, of course).

Enjoy your fermented fish sauce.