Fish sauce

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Ghodur

Assistant Cook
Joined
Jul 6, 2013
Messages
42
Location
Medford, OR
What is fish sauce supposed to look like? I bought something that claimed to be fish sauce and it is clear, looks like vegetable oil and is VERY fishy. No way would I put 2 T of this in anything. Please tell me I have the wrong stuff.
 
None of the fish sauces in our local Asian market are clear. They seem to have the color of honey, IMO. I guess anything is possible. What does the lable claim the origins to be?
 
What is the brand name of the sauce you bought? Maybe we can find it online and check it out.

My fish sauce is also honey-colored and the consistency is like water. It should smell very fishy, but it's not supposed to be the primary flavor of a dish. It's used like salt - just enough to enhance the flavor but not make the food salty.
 
What is fish sauce supposed to look like? I bought something that claimed to be fish sauce a nd it is clear, looks like vegetable oil and is VERY fishy. No way would I put 2 T of this in anything. Please tell me I have the wrong stuff.

I've never bought fish sauce that was clear (like water clear) .

You might go to Google Images (if your browser has that function) and see if you recognize your bottle there.

When you say clear----- do you mean like water 'clear' or a transparent clear honey color? (Sorry for the clumsy description. :))

If it looks like vegetable oil then I assume you mean 'transparent' clear but some color to it.

Is your fish sauce lighter in color than the lightest one shown in this image?

fish-sauce-taste-test-color-comparrison.jpg


This site will not answer your question but it will explain a lot about fish sauce.

Fish Sauce Taste Test, 13 Brands Compared — Our Daily Brine

I do love a mystery.
 
You might go to Google Images (if your browser has that function) and see if you recognize your bottle there.

Just wanted to clarify: Google Images is an option provided by the Google search engine; it's not browser-specific. Search for something at google.com and click Images on the search results page.
 
Just wanted to clarify: Google Images is an option provided by the Google search engine; it's not browser-specific. Search for something at google.com and click Images on the search results page.

Thank you--- I sorta thought that after I'd posted.
 
...It's used like salt - just enough to enhance the flavor but not make the food salty.
Ghodur, like GG said it's to enhance the overall flavor of a dish. Since it seems strong to you, just use a scant portion of what a recipe calls for. If the recipe says 1 TBSP you could start with 1 TSP or less. That's what I have done over time with sesame oil. It started out too flavorful for me; as I got used to the flavoring I could put more in.
 
My sauce has a very slight honey color.

Thank you----- Then I would think that it's one of the fish sauces with less color and is probably o.k. Experimenting with just a little is a good idea.

Have you told us the brand name yet or an image from Google Images? That would help.
 

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