16 Fish Sauce Recipes to Use Up that Bottle of Fish Sauce! (2024)

FAQs

How do you use bottled fish sauce? ›

Remember it's just a source of salty and savory taste. Richer foods are great for experimenting as the fish flavour won't be too obvious: try it in stews, chili, bolognese sauce, braised meats, pasta sauces, or meatloaf! Prik nam pla is a great way to use fish sauce.

Foods that have a strong umami flavor include meats, shellfish, fish (including fish sauce and preserved fish such as Maldives fish, Katsuobushi, sardines, and anchovies), tomatoes, mushrooms, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, meat extract, yeast extract, kimchi, cheeses, and soy sauce.

Pinch of sugar and a squeeze of lime or lemon. More vegetables and protein would also help beforehand if the fishy taste is very strong. Simply add a little bit of simple Corn starch to help “bland” the intensity of the excess stir fry sauce.

The salty, savory ingredient is used to add umami to dozens of popular dishes, such as pad thai, but can also be used to marinate meats, dress vegetables or punch up the flavor in soups or stews. It can even serve as a base to salad dressings and homemade condiments.

Shopping for and Storing Fish Sauce

Store it in a cool dark place, like the pantry, and away from any hot areas in your kitchen, like directly above the stove. You should avoid storing fish sauce in the fridge because cold temperatures will cause the salt to crystallize over time.

In Korea, fish sauce is called eojang (어장). Across the Korean Peninsula, aekjeot (액젓, literally "liquid jeotgal"), a type of fish sauce usually made from fermented anchovies or sand lances, is used as a crucial ingredient in many types of kimchi, both for taste and fermentation.

Thai Fried Rice gets its unique flavor from the fish sauce, soy sauce, and chili peppers, and the jasmine rice is a must. They also added tomatoes to their rice which gives it a subtle hint of sweetness.

Despite its longevity, consumers often question the safety of using fish sauce past its expiration date. Due to its preservative nature, it usually remains safe to consume well beyond the date printed on the bottle. However, the quality and flavor of the sauce might decline over time.

According to FoodSafety.Gov, unopened jars of pasta sauce should be stored at room temperature in a cupboard or pantry. They can be kept for up to 18 months from the date of purchase. As outlined above, once opened, they should be used quickly to avoid spoilage.

As well as imparting a complex and enhancing flavour profile, making it a crucial ingredient in many dishes, fish sauce also has health benefits. Fish sauce contains a high amount of essential amino acids, which support sleep and boost both the digestive system and metabolism.

What does umami mean? ›

Umami, which is also known as monosodium glutamate is one of the basic five tastes including sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Umami means “delicious savory taste” in Japanese, and its taste is often described as the meaty, savory deliciousness that deepens flavor.

While you may think you've never eaten fish sauce, there's a pretty good chance you have. If you've ever eaten pad Thai or phở, for instance, you've had fish sauce. Fish sauce has a surprisingly pungent aroma, but don't let that put you off. Its flavor, however, isn't overwhelmingly fishy.

Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Uses in Cooking

Due to its versatility, fish sauce is a common household condiment in Vietnam. It functions like salt in Western meals, but of course fish sauce has a richer flavour, bringing a deeper, savoury, umami complexity to your cooking.

I'd rather keep it in a safe place -- the fridge. Another reason to refrigerate fish sauce -- if the briny savory fragrance gets to you, keeping nuoc mam/nam pla/patis chilled mitigates the odor. Note that high quality fish sauce is heady like dried porcini mushroom. Chill fish sauce to downplay its aroma.