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 sauce at the table as a condiment, for instance in noodle soups. Nearly every Thai meal is served with "phrik nam pla" as a condiment: a mixture of fish sauce, lime juice, and chopped bird's eye chilies. Sliced garlic and lemon juice are often added to this sauce. Historically, there were two types of fish sauce made in Thailand: that made with a fresh-water fish, "pla soi", and sauce made from a salt-water fish, "pla kratak". Either fish is fermented for at least eight months, three parts fish to two parts salt. The resulting mash is filtered. This yields the best