Dear Day, I heard that fish sauce is a staple ingredient in Thai food, but it also has unpleasant smell.  Do you use it in your cooking?

Chef Day Answers: Many westerners are not familiar with the smell of fish sauce by itself.  It is made from fermented fish. The longer the fish is fermented, the less fishy is the taste of the sauce. Yes, it’s true that fish sauce is an important ingredient in Thai cooking.  It gives a flavorful, distinguished taste to Thai and most Southeast Asian cooking.  In fact, it is used in place of salt in most dishes.  However, when it is blended with other ingredients, it gives out such a pleasant aroma, that one will never be able to tell that there is fish sauce in the dish!