Fish sauce is often made from anchovies, salt, and water, and is intensely flavoured. Anchovies and salt are arranged in wooden barrels to ferment and are slowly pressed, yielding the salty, fishy liquid. The salt extracts the liquid via osmosis. Southeast Asians generally use fish sauce as a cooking sauce. However, there is a sweet and sour version of this sauce which is used more commonly as a dipping sauce (see "nước chấm"). Fish sauce in Burma is called "ngan bya yay" (ငံပြာရည်). In Cambodia, fish sauce is known as "teuk trei" (ទឹកត្រី), of which there are a variety of sauces using
Fish ball cuttlefish balls (墨魚丸). Readily available in traditional markets and supermarkets, fish balls are also a popular ingredient for hot pot. White fish balls from traditional fish ball restaurants are made from fresh fish and are normally hand-made (手打) by the owners using traditional techniques. The big golden fish ball is a snack in Cheung Chau. Distinguishing features include size, sauce and texture. They can be fist-sized and are served with a special curry sauce, and are mainly made from fresh fish which makes the texture more smooth. The basic ingredients are fish, flour and flavourings such as salt and sugar,