Fish sauce sub?

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eesta_bunny

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 20, 2012
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not where i want
Hi everyone. :chef: I'm a newbie here.
I found this interesting site while googling for substiutions for fish sauce. If you're a fan of Asian food, you'll understand where I'm coming from. Though I think fish sauce is delicious,:yum: the smell just doesn't agree with me at all so I'm looking for a possible substitute because omitting it completely, which I have been doing, leaves my recipe seeming like something's missing. I was wondering if a dollop of anchovie paste would work instead of the fish sauce? :question:

Any advice would be much appreciated. Nice to meet you all. :)
 
Fish sauce comes in an almost infinite variety. I suggest you should try a different fish sauce. Fish sauces vary by countries too. It seems to me that fish sauce from Vietnam is much stronger smelling than Thai fish sauce. Also, look for a clear fish sauce, not one with little fishes floating in it.

My favorite nam pla (fish sauce) is Cock brand from Thailand, has very little aroma, and an appearance of clear dark tea.

I have a few more robust fish sauces including with little fish inside but I generally use my favorite brand for most Thai cooking.

Mash up a few anchovies and mix them with couple of TBS of rice vinegar.

Might be worth a try. Perhaps better, just use anchovy paste.

How about oyster sauce?

Oyster sauce isn't really anything like fish sauce. It has a thick kind of smoky taste and lots of soy (which may or may not go with the recipe).
 
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I can't stand anything fishy tasting, but I have no problem with fish sauce. I just make sure I don't get a good whiff of it before I add it to a dish. It really is a necessary ingredient in the Asian stuff I make.
 
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I wonder if dashi (Japanese powdered fish stock) could be used... It is generally made from fermented bonito and other ingredients (probably MSG). It has a mild but fishy taste.

Here's an interesting article (worth reading) on fish sauce:

Fish sauce - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I've often faced the issue of fish sauce substitutes in communicating my Thai recipes to other Thai enthusiasts, but the issue is usually that they don't have any local sources for it.
 
Some things have no good substitute. Fish sauce is one of those.
I, for one, love the smell. Fish sauce has to be one of my favorite condiments and ingredients.
My suggestion, instead of trying substitutes just hold your nose while you cook with it. Otherwise that foundational SE Asian flavor will always be missing from the dish.
Bonito flakes don't have the super-savory, deep, salty, fermented, complex flavor that fish sauce has, in my opinion.
 
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I believe in tasting all my ingredients, no matter what cuisine. I've tasted my fish sauce that I recommended above and it smelled and tasted milder than I suspected, and wasn't bad at all. Now the fish sauce with the anchovies floating around inside looks pretty nasty and I'm not sure I'll want to try that. And crab paste... not that either! I make a point of not sniffing much when I'm adding crab paste to my recipes.

I agree with the comment above. If it smells bad then just don't smell it. You can't smell that in the finished recipe.

Another thing to think about: I don't know how important authentic recipes are to you. It's not going to taste authentic and may taste kind of off or flat if you don't use fish sauce or if you use something else.
 
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don't think there is a sub for fish sauce,it's just one of those things that can't be replicated imo.stick a peg on your nose & keep using the sauce!
welcome to dc eesta from manchester uk
 
Some things have no good substitute. Fish sauce is one of those.
I, for one, love the smell. Fish sauce has to be one of my favorite condiments and ingredients.
My suggestion, instead of trying substitutes just hold your nose while you cook with it. Otherwise that foundational SE Asian flavor will always be missing from the dish.
Bonito flakes don't have the super-savory, deep, salty, fermented, complex flavor that fish sauce has, in my opinion.


I agree 100%
 
I've come to the conclusion this thread is not about a sandwich made with fish sauce, on a long crusty roll.
 
There's no substitute for fish sauce for me because I like it and because it is readily available here. However I'm often tempted to try and come up with some substitute that might give others some reasonably similar result when they can't find fish sauce in their local stores. Somebody not liking fish sauce or not wanting to use it is very unusual, and I don't know what to do for people like that. That's a desire that is unlikely to be satisfied because the more accurate the substitute is the more likely they will be to not want it, for the same reasons they don't want fish sauce.

My advice: Either leave it out or like the others said hold your nose while you add it. I've never been able to taste or smell fish sauce in a completed recipe as an individual thing, but rather it changes everything but not in a fishy smelly way.
 
When I tell people a dish has fish sauce in it, they wrinkle their noses in distaste but love the dish when it's done. I ask if they tasted the fish sauce and they say no. Maybe they will be more accepting next time.
 
When I tell people a dish has fish sauce in it, they wrinkle their noses in distaste but love the dish when it's done.

Just don't tell them. If they ask what that bottle is, tell them it's nam pla, a special Asian ingredient that makes the dish taste better.
 
Oyster sauce isn't really anything like fish sauce. It has a thick kind of smoky taste and lots of soy (which may or may not go with the recipe).

Yes, I know - it's one of my favorite condiments. Since there really is nothing like the flavor of fish sauce, I thought it might be good anyway, since it has such a nice fermented flavor. I only use about 1/4 tsp. in a batch of stir-fry and it makes a big difference. A dash of Maggi seasoning is another possibility.
 

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