Sounds great. Loving hearing about the evolution of it.
Yesssss. What are the salts / seasonings that you have on your plate?
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“Royal Taster.”
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Post a picture, if you don’t mind, so we know what we’re aiming for. That sounds really good.
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[quote=“robert, post:292, topic:3429”]
nam pla,
[/quote]On sweet potatoes?
[quote=“robert, post:297, topic:3429, full:true”]
The pork fell apart into threads, yes.
[/quote]It looks tasty though… and pretty.
[quote=“President_Mochi, post:301, topic:3429”]
What are the salts / seasonings that you have on your plate?
[/quote]I was wondering that too. Love the little mounds. Looks great @Ns1
The original inspiration was an African dish that used dried fish. Nam pla’s just a fast and easy way to get that flavor. Sometimes I use a small can of anchovies instead. It’s all mashed up, so it looks like orange mashed potatoes with bits of bacon and onion.
Ahhh… I think I’ll try it. Is it like a hash or like mashed potatoes?
For the non-initiated would it be nicer to just say fish sauce. Which btw I use all the time in non-Asian dishes. The best soup I’ve made in years got a couple of tablespoon. As Andrea Nguyen sauce “secret sauce” 
I’m going to start experimenting with it more.
I like O Mag. I don’t buy it, because I’m kind of on magazine restriction. But I receive O emails and our veterinarian always has the newest issues.
Speaking of “make ahead recipes” and Ina. I got the Barefoot Contessa’s Make-Ahead Cookbook last X-Mas. I made the Coquilles St.- Jacques 
.
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Actually I’ve largely switched to Red Boat nước mắm nhi now that it’s available at Trader Joe’s at a reasonable price.
What I did yesterday, more or less:
4 slices Hobbs bacon, diced
1 large white onion, coarsely chopped
crushed red pepper flakes to taste
splash of dry white wine
1/2 cup Pomi tomato
3 lbs. Diane sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered lengthwise, and sliced 1/4" thick
chicken stock
2 tbsp. Red Boat fish sauce
Cook the bacon over medium heat in a large flat-bottomed pot with a tight cover. (I use my 5.5-quart round Le Creuset or similar All-Clad Dutch oven.) When the bacon starts to brown, add the onion and pepper flakes. Sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. Deglaze with white wine. When the alcohol has evaporated, add the tomato, sweet potatoes, enough liquid to steam the sweet potatoes, and fish sauce. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding more liquid as necessary, until the sweet potatoes are soft enough to mash (maybe 90 minutes). After I add the sweet potatoes I use a diffuser to keep it from sticking / burning in the center.
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I figured if we pestered you enough with questions you’d give us the recipe. Thanks! Coinkydink, I get Red Boat at TJ’s too.
Isn’t that just another name for “fish sauce”? I’ve been using it and MagicChef since Andrea Nguyen recommended them a few years ago. That’s the kind of thing where price doesn’t matter particularly to me. I don’t use that much of it at a time.
Oops, MegaChef.
[quote=“catholiver, post:315, topic:3429”]
Isn’t that just another name for “fish sauce”?
[/quote]I think he’s playing with you a little bit Cath.
No idea what that means.
Nam pla is Thai, nuoc mam is Vietnamese. I think there’s more variation between brands than between nationalities, but I haven’t found any Thai stuff that’s close to the quality of Red Boat. Italian colatura di alici is also superior but costs a lot more than Red Boat.
You might enjoy this:
http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/basics-fish-sauce/
This was IIRC before she visited the Red Boat facility.
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That was interesting. The first fish sauce I ever bought was Squid, it was all they had at the store by my college. I remember thinking it was awful and not understanding why people would use this stuff.