What type of fish sauce would you use? I went to my local Asian market and was overwhelmed with the varieties. Brand or name if you can please?

Red Boat is excellent and sold on Provisions! http://food52.com/provisions/products/477-red-boat-fish-sauce-40-n-and-red-boat-fish-salt

Cooks Illustrated recommends Tiparos

Tiparos is usually easy to find. It works well in both Thai and Vietnamese recipes. I recently took a very good Thai cooking class and it is the brand that the instructor (who is Thai and very picky) recommended.

I've liked Golden Boy too. What people object to in the Three Crabs brand is that it is not naturally fermented but instead gets its flavors from a bunch of additives. Some people think it has a metallic taste. Red Boat has gotten a whole lot of attention, and it's additive-free.

Disclaimer: My information might be dated, but some Asian-American home cooks recommend *NOT* buying 3 Crabs since it is--or was--produced using chemicals which they swear affects the flavor. I've followed advice from Barbara Tropp marginalia and use Golden Boy (made in Thailand). That said, the *type* of fish sauce is what you need to take into account. "Nuoc Mam" is what I own. FYI: Donrockwell.com, a culinary board based in D.C. metro area has a great, active member who uses Fishinnards as his online moniker. His photographs of Thai home-cooking are extraordinary and he'd be a good person to consult.

Any of fish sauce from Vietnam or Thailand will work. I don't recommend Philipino fish sauce because it tends to be really strong and, for me, it tastes different from the stuff from Vietname and Thailand.

As for specific brands, I like Red Boat, 3 Crabs, and Squid Brand. You will find that even though some of the brands say that they are from Phu Quoc (Vietnam), they're made in Thailand (label says "Product of Thailand").