Demystifying Fish Sauce: A Deep Dive into This Polarizing Yet Popular Ingredient

Fish sauce is one of those divisive ingredients that people tend to have very strong opinions about. Its intensely fishy, briny, and salty flavor profile elicits reactions ranging from utter repulsion to dedicated fandom. But whether you love it or hate it, there’s a lot more to fish sauce than meets the nose.

As someone who enjoys cooking Asian dishes at home, I frequently find myself reaching for a trusty bottle of fish sauce to add depth and umami to stir-fries, curries, marinades, and dipping sauces. However, despite using it often, I realized that I didn’t actually know all that much about what fish sauce really is or what goes into making this unique condiment.

So in true food geek fashion, I decided to do a deep dive on all things fish sauce. From its origins and ingredients to how it’s made and used around the world, I aimed to uncover what makes fish sauce tick…and maybe even convert a few fish sauce skeptics along the way.

A Brief History of Fish Sauce

Though many associate fish sauce with Southeast Asian cuisines like Vietnamese, Thai, and Filipino, its origins actually date back thousands of years to ancient Greece and Rome. The Greeks and Romans used a fish sauce called garum that was made from fermented fish intestines, blood, and other parts. It became a highly coveted ingredient and trading commodity across civilizations.

Over the centuries, versions of fermented fish sauce spread throughout Asia and eventually evolved into the products we know today like Vietnam’s nuoc mam, Thailand’s nam pla, and the Philippines’ patis But no matter where in the world fish sauce originated, the basic technique has remained surprisingly consistent through the ages salt, fish, and time

The Two Main Ingredients: Fish and Salt

As the name suggests, fish sauce contains just two primary ingredients – fish and salt. While the type of fish can vary, most fish sauces today use anchovies as the base Anchovies are small, oily forage fish that travel in large schools, making them plentiful and relatively inexpensive to catch

The salt content in fish sauce typically ranges from 15-30%. Salt plays several crucial roles in the production of fish sauce:

• Prevents spoilage and bacteria growth
• Extracts moisture from the fish
• Aids in breaking down fish proteins into amino acids
• Provides characteristic salty flavor

So that’s it – just fish and salt are needed to make this powerful umami bomb of a condiment! The magic lies in the fermentation process…

From Fish to Liquid: How Fish Sauce Is Made

Fish sauce is made using a process called fermentation, which relies on beneficial microorganisms to transform and preserve food. Here’s a high-level overview of how it’s produced:

1. Layer fish and salt: Small fish like anchovies or sardines are layered with salt at about a 3:1 ratio in large tanks or barrels.

2. Wait and ferment: The fish/salt mixture sits for 9-12 months, allowing enzymes and bacteria to break down proteins into amino acids and peptides.

3. Liquification and straining: Over time, the fish liquefies into a thick brown sludge. This liquid is then strained or filtered to remove any remaining solids.

4. Aging: Some producers will age the strained liquid for several more months to allow flavors to further develop.

5. Bottling: Finally, the fish sauce is bottled, ready for distribution and sale.

It’s incredible that such a complex, umami-rich condiment can come from the natural transformation of just fish and salt over time. The slower the fermentation, the more nuanced and complex the final product.

Grades and Styles Around the World

Not all fish sauces are created equal. Based on factors like length of fermentation, ingredients, and production methods, prices and quality can vary widely:

• Vietnam: Known for top-quality fish sauces made from anchovies and salt only. Look for true “Nuoc Mam” vs cheaper “Nam Ngu”. “Nuoc Mam Nhi” is premium grade.

• Thailand: Ranges from basic to premium. “Nam Pla” is standard while “Nam Pla R” indicates higher quality. Made from anchovies or sardines.

• Philippines: “Patis” is thin, clean, with milder flavor. “Bagoong” is thicker, shrimp-based, and very salty.

• Japan: “Shottsuru” and “Ishiru” styles use sake lees, squid, sardines. Milder with extra umami.

• Korea: “Aekjeot” is made from fermented tiny shrimp called krill. Intensely flavored, Deep red-brown.

Do some taste tests of sauces from different regions to find your favorite style.

Tasting and Using Fish Sauce

The flavor of fish sauce is tough to pin down – it’s simultaneously sweet, salty, meaty and briny, with an undeniably fishy funk. A little goes a long way, and it should be used in moderation as a seasoning and condiment, not a main ingredient.

Here are some tips for incorporating fish sauce successfully into cooking and eating:

• Add drops or dashes to stir fries, broths, braises right at the end of cooking. The heat helps to mellow and blend the flavor.

• Mix with lime, garlic, sugar and chilies as a dipping sauce or dressing base. The acidity and sweetness balance the saltiness.

• Marinate meats, seafood or tofu before grilling for added depth and umami flavor.

• Saute aromatics like ginger and shallots in fish sauce instead of oil at the start of a recipe.

• Add to noodle dishes, lettuce wraps, spring rolls for a flavor boost.

• Use when you’d typically reach for soy sauce, miso or anchovies to amp up savoriness.

• Start with tiny amounts, taste, and adjust until the flavor balances out.

The keys are balancing fish sauce’s intense salt and flavor, and allowing its brilliance to complement rather than overpower. With the right approach and recipes, even fish sauce skeptics can become converts!