i imagine that these food items came about in a time when starving to death was a real issue. though i don't know why the fermentation is necessary when drying would suffice.
my dad told me about a viet namese "food item" of fermented fish, buried in the ground. this was a man who had to eat monkey and rat to survive in the jungle and he wouldn't touch that shit with a ten-foot pole. a thai friend of mine tried to get me to eat one of their "delicacies." it's a fertilized egg (an embyo) still in the shell that has been treated in some way, let to rot and then enjoyed. was never going to happen.
i use an extremely expensive fish sauce made in Japan. but i am talking about just drops of it in a dish to create "umami." just those few drops take the dish from good to delicious. i also make a german dish, a pickled herring salad that is awesome. but i grew up eating foods a lot of my friends never experienced. but i draw the line at gagging/dry heaving when it comes to foods.
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