Golden Boy and the Errant Summer Rolls

These were not the best summer rolls. Where did we go wrong? Maybe the wraps were to blame, they didn't seem to have as much stickiness as last time. They definitely should have been tighter. The mediocre shrimp didn't help, purchased because they were on sale, but lacking in flavor.

In any case, the peanut sauce, which I'm proud to say I winged, was really good. The salad was tasty too: a few leftover shitake mushrooms sauteed in sesame oil on a bed of spring mix with avocado and a potent ginger/garlic dressing.

So no recipe this time, not until I get the summer rolls straight. This post was really just an excuse to introduce you to this: (Cue angels singing...)



This is Golden Boy Fish Sauce, and it's very useful. It goes into all manner of Asian dishes, especially Thai and Vietnamese. This is by far my favorite fish sauce, and not because I'm some kind of connoisseur of fish sauce, but simply because the picture on the label is so freakin' bizarre. Look at him! This is the baby of your nightmares. His right foot bent into an impossible position. Why is he giving the thumbs up sign? Is it because he likes his fish sauce? Does the "thumbs up" signify the same thing in Thailand as it does here, or is it something sinister?

His mouth - why is it so red? What does it mean that he's sitting on top of the world? Sinister I tell you. However, the best part has to be the potentially infinite number of Golden Boys on this label. If only you had the microscopic vision, you could see the Golden Boy on the bottle that the Golden Boy on the bottle is holding and so on ad infinitum. Golden Boys stretching backward forever. Or at least until 1914.

Anyhow, I do recommend Golden Boy, it is a good fish sauce. Just don't look at the label too long, it might be the thing that finally causes you to lose it.