Fish sauce fish sauce as a base. The Indonesian semi-solid fish paste or fermented krill "terasi", the Cambodian "prahok" and the Malay fermented krill brick "belacan" or budu from liquid anchovies are other popular variations of fish sauces. In Lao/Isan, it is called "nam pa". A chunkier, more aromatic version known as "padaek" is also used. The similar Philippine version common to Indochina is called "patis". "Patis", a by-product of "bagoong", is nearly always cooked prior to consumption, even when used as an accent to salads or other raw dishes. Patis is also used as an ingredient in cooked dishes, including a
Fish sauce "kecap" in Indonesia might be the precursor of ketchup. By 50–100 BC, demand for fish pastes in China had fallen drastically, with fermented bean products having become a major trade commodity. Fish sauce, however, developed massive popularity in Southeast Asia. Food scholars traditionally divide East Asia into two distinct condiment regions, separated by a bean-fish divide: Southeast Asia, mainly using fermented fish (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia) and Northeast Asia, using mainly fermented beans (China, Korea, Japan). Fish sauce re-entered China in the 17th and 18th centuries, brought from Vietnam and Cambodia by Chinese traders up the coast of the southern provinces