Fish Sauce

[liuzhou]

First recorded in China in the 7th century CE, fish sauce was once much more common across East Asia, but fell out of favour and was replaced by soy sauce when that became the seasoning of choice in China, Japan and other Asian countries.

 

Fish sauce remained dominant mainly in S.E Asia, but pockets of resistance to soy remained in places today less well known for fish sauce use.

 

Also, in recent years there has been a revival of interest and small producers are popping up from Japan to China and beyond.

 

One pocket is 潮汕 (cháo shàn), an area comprised of 潮州 (cháo zhōu), Chaozhou and 汕头 (shàn tóu) Shantou cities and surrounding districts in Guangdong Province of China. 

 

The area is home to the Teochew people (they call themselves Chiu Chau) who have their own culture, language and cuisine. 

 

The cuisine, somewhat unfairly considered a subset of Cantonese cuisine, is well known internationally. If you've ever eaten an oyster omelette in a Cantonese restaurant, you've eaten Teochew food. 

 

They are noted for their seafood dishes. 潮汕砂锅粥  (cháo shàn shā guō zhōu), Chaoshan Sand Pot Congee with seafood is my death row final breakfast choice. Also, beef is often  a common protein here, more so than generally in Cantonese cuisine.

 

In 2021, 菁禧荟 (jīng xǐ huì) became the first Chaoshan restaurant to be awarded a Michelin star. Unfortunately, the restaurant is in Shanghai. Michelin inspectors seldom venture out if their comfort zone.

 

But the main point here is that Chaoshan uses fish sauce! 

 

 

潮汕鱼露 (cháo shàn yú lù), Chaoshan fish sauce is legendary but extremely difficult to find outside the area - it isn't even easy in China. I have to ask a friend who lives near Chaoshan to send me some, but she struggles, too.

 

 

Aged for between one and five years and lighter in colour than many fish sauces, it is used to season not only seafood dishes but to add salinity and umami to all kinds of dishes.

 

5-year-old Chaoshan fish sauce - image from manufacturer.

 

If I ever find it locally, I'll buy the store's entire stock. It keeps for years but I'll probably be back at the store in months, begging for more.

 

 

Edited March 2 by liuzhou (log)

[AAQuesada]

Pretty cool I have MegaChef & Son fish sauce (a newish brand that is similar to Red Boat). Now I am curious to try a Korean style fish sauce!

[liuzhou]

The first time I went to Burma / Myanmar was by accident and I had stupidly wandered into a battleground where the local Shan militia were fighting in resistance to the ruling military junta. I had no visa and wasn't even carrying my passport. When I realized I had accidentally crossed the border from China, I decided this wasn't perhaps the best time to investigate the local fish sauce, so I turned and ran back across the border before either side decided to shoot me as a spy.

 

A few years later, when the junta relaxed its grip a bit, I returned, this time legally and found ငံပြာရည် (ngan bya yay),  Burmese fish sauce. Burmese food instantly became one of my top three favourites.

 

 

The sauce was and probably still is very close to the Thai version. In a village near Dawei, I saw boatloads of anchovies being unloaded and driven to a processing plant which I didn't visit but certainly smelled.

 

Burmese fish sauce is essential in မုန့်ဟင်းခါး (monhinga), a fish soup with noodles, considered by many to be the country's national dish.

 

Burma Love brand fish sauce is apparently available in the USA from Amazon Prime, but be aware it is made from fish sourced in Vietnam and salt from Thailand. Despite the company's name, their website describes the sauce as Vietnamese.

 

Burma Love Anchovy Sauce

 

So far as I can determine Burmese sauce from actual Burma is unavailable, possibly due to sanctions.

 

Do not confuse Burmese fish sauce and ငါးပိ (ngapi) which is a pungent fermented paste made with fish or shrimp.  ငါးပိချက် (ngapi jet) is the most commonly seen.

 

Ngapi - image my.zegobird.com

 

 

Edited March 2 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

3 hours ago, AAQuesada said:

Pretty cool I have MegaChef & Son fish sauce (a newish brand that is similar to Red Boat). Now I am curious to try a Korean style fish sauce!

 

MegaChef is Thai; Red Boat is Vietnamese.

 

That said, MegaChef make two different fish sauces - a Thai style in a brown bottle and a Vietnamese style in a blue bottle. Which do you have?

 

Amazon usually stocks Wangshin brand of Korean fish sauce. I've never had it but reviews are positive.

 

 

Edited March 2 by liuzhou (log)

[weinoo]

And on to the good stuff...

 

 

https://www.gustiamo.com/colatura-anchovy-sauce-from-cetara-by-nettuno/#&gid=1&pid=1

[liuzhou]

Last night I discovered there is a source of Chinese fish sauce other than in Chaoshan as mentioned above.

 

A short distance east of Chaozhou is Fujian province, which has also had an influence on Chaoshan's Teochow cuisine. But it seems the traffic hasn't all been one way. There is a Fujianese fish sauce.

 

S:闽江鱼露; T: 閩江魚露 (mǐn jiāng yú lù), Min River Fish Sauce is made in Fuzhou, the capital of Fujian. Fujian cuisine is know in China as 闽菜 (mǐn cài), after the river.

 

 

To be tried.

 

 

 

Edited March 2 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

One of the less well-known fish sauces is ນ້ໍາປາ (nam pa). No, I haven't misspelled 'nam pla'. ນ້ໍາປາ (nam pa) is the Lao version and pronunciation. Laos has some of the most interesting fish sauces. 

 

There are basically two types of fish sauce found in this small land-locked country sandwiched between Thailand and Cambodia. 

 

າປາ (nam pa), made from fermented fish is the basic version and similar in appearance to the similarly named Thai type. However, it is stronger and funkier smelling.

 

However, more popular is ປາແດກ (padaek), an unfiltered product which is thicker than nam pa and often contains lumps of fermented fish. It is somewhere between a sauce and a paste.

 

Padaek

 

It is also much stronger in flavour, depending on the fermentation time (between one and five years), but essential in ส้มตำ (som tam), green papaya salad which although usually associated with Thailand, actually originated in Laos.

 

Fish sauce also appears in laap, raw or rare beef salad. Yes, this too originated in Laos. And yes, there is no /r/ sound in the word. 

 

The Isaan area of Thailand used to be Lao territory and the majority of the population is still ethnically Lao. There are, by far, more Lao people in Thailand than in Laos - 17 million in Thailand; 8 million in Laos. So, you've probably eaten Lao food even if you think you've only eaten Thai.

 

Laos too has a fish sauce dip. This is known as ແຈ່ວ ສົ້ມ (transliterated as jeow som or jaew some, literally 'spicy sauce sour'). This is similar to the Thai prik nam pla (น้ําปลาพริก), fish sauce being mixed with lime juice and chilli along with garlic and coriander leaf/Cilantro.

 

Lao sauces are not widely distributed but you can, should you wish and have extremely tolerant neighbours, make your own padaek.

 

Recipe here.

 

http://padaek.com/make-padaek-lao-fermented-fish-sauce-recipe/

 

 

 

Edited August 18 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Cambodia, កម្ពុជា (Kampuchea) is possibly the only country where you can spend fish. The local currency, រៀល (riĕl) , introduced in 1953 when the country gained independence from France, is believed by many to take it's name from a variety of fish, Henicorhynchus entmema or  'riĕl'.

 

Rial harvest

 

Others dispute this, claiming implausibly that the name is derived from the Spanish real, although they struggle to explain how or why a bunch of southeast Asian peasants, newly liberated from French colonial rule, suddenly took up speaking Spanish.

 

Whatever, the story does indicate the importance of the fish in Cambodia. It is this species, caught in Tonle Sap Lake, that is used in their ubiquitous fish sauce, ប្រហុក (prahok).

 

 

Mud carp, រៀល (riĕl), are fermented with salt as usual and both the resulting juices and the residual fish are sold as ប្រហុក (prahok).

 

Prahok (centre)

 

Although they can't agree on the etymology of their cash, everyone agrees the prahok stinks. Of all the fermented fish products, this is probably the most notorious.

 

Prahok is also used in the preparation of ទឹកត្រីb  (tuk trei), Cambodia's version of the dipping sauces found all over SE Asia, mixed with lime juice, garlic and chilli. In fact, Cambodia has many versions of this, depending on the added ingredients. 

 

Note: Khmer transliteration has never been standardised, so you will see various spellings of all these terms.

 

Images from Phnom Penh Post

 

 

Edited August 18 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

I have started a companion topic in the Cookbook and References section, listing some interesting and relevant reading material.

I will continue with more fish sauces here.

 

 

[liuzhou]

Japan, in a number of ways, exemplifies the rise, fall and rise of fish sauce in parts of Asia.

 

It isn't known exactly how fish sauce arrived in East Asia. There are claims it was brought by the Romans to China. Alternatively, it could have been developed independently. Or both. 

 

Whatever, it was certainly a major sauce in parts of China, which introduced it to Japan and Korea. In the 14th century, soy sauce started to oust it and by the 16th century fish sauce was almost extinct in those countries.

 

Only in recent years, has there been a revival, with small enterprises reviving old recipes and techniques. Interest, fuelled in part by tourism, is growing.

 

Today, the three major types of fish sauce in Japan are しょっつる (shottsuru), いしり (ishiri) / いしる ishiru and いかなご醤油 (ikanaga shoyo).

 

Shottsuru  (しょっつる)

 

秋田 (Akita) is a relatively small city in the prefecture of the same name on the northwestern coast of Japan's largest island, 本州 Honshū. 

 

The local fisherman's main catch was ハタハタ (hatahata), Japanese sandfish, Arctoscopus japonicus .

 

Hatahata - oganavi.com

 

Shottsuru made from hatahata was revived and put into production by around 1980. By the early 90s catches had declined dramatically due to overfishing and today most shottsuru is made using 鰯 (iwashi) - sardines. Hatahata populations have somewhat revived, but the fish is rarely consumed today.

 

Shottsuru - nihonmono.jp

 

Shottsuru is paler and milder than many fish sauces (as are most Japanese types) and can be used as a dip for おにぎり - onigiri rice balls,  served with うどん - udon noodles, mixed into ラーメン - ramen, added to 炒め物 - stir-fries, etc.

 

Edited August 18 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

The second major fish sauce from Japan comes from 能登半島 (noto hanjima), the Noto Peninsula in 石川県 (Ishikawa ken), Ishikawa Prefecture on Japan's west coast, about 4 hours from Tokyo by the famous high speed train.

 

It also causes great confusion. The area produces two types of fish sauce: いしり (ishiri) and いしる (ishiru).

 

Ishiri - kaneishi.com

 

Ishiri is made from 烏賊 (ika) squid entrails on the east side of the peninsula while on the west they tend to make ishiru fish sauce from 鰯 (iwashi), sardines or サバ (saba), mackerel.

 

Ishiru - six.matrix.jp

 

Unfortunately, due to the similarity of the names and the fact that people use the two names and two sauces interchangeably, you can never be sure what you're getting.

 

While Shottsuru is generally considered to be the premium sauce in Japan, that from Noto, by either name, has been the most produced.

 

On New Year's Day 2024, Noto Peninsula was hit by a Mj7.6 magnitude earthquake which killed over 200 people, injured many more and caused widespread structural and infrastructural damage. Thousands are still camped in emergency shelters, two months later.

 

Obviously, this had a major effect on sauce production, which mostly takes place in the winter months.

 

What the long term holds is still uncertain.

 

 

Edited August 18 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

Off the southeast corner of 本州島 (honshū shima) Honshū Island, Japan's largest is 四国島 (shikoku shima), Shikoku Island, Japan. On the northern shore of the island is 香川県 (kagawa ken), Kagawa Prefecture, home to a very different type of fish sauce.

 

いかなご醤油 (ikanago shoyu) is made from いかなご (ikanago), a type of fish known in English as 'sand lance', Ammodytes personatus. 

 

Ikanago-shoyu - konbudoi.shop-pro.jp

 

What sets this sauce apart is that instead of being fermented in the normal way using salt, the fish are fermented in 醤油 (shoyu), Japanese soy sauce in a ratio of two parts fish to one soy sauce. After 100 days, it is ready. This compares to the one to three years for traditionally made fish sauce. 

 

The sauce is saltier but less fishy than other fish sauces, but because of its more intense savoury umami-rich flavour is used in smaller qualities.

 

I would describe it as a fish flavoured soy sauce at her than a soy flavoured fish sauce. This makes it a good dip for sashimi and sushi.

 

It also wakes up soups and noodles. a couple of drops in your ramen is recommended.

 

I have great memories of a dish of pickled wild mushrooms served with a ikanago-shoyu and ginger dip in Tokyo.

 

 

Edited August 18 by liuzhou (log)

[liuzhou]

So, I've mentioned the three most well-known fish sauces but there are more and, I'm sure, there will be even more in future as the Japanese reclaim their historical culinary heritage. Several enterprises are already doing so - almost all very small producers.

 

I hesitate to use the overused term - artisanal - but can't think of a better one and I do think here it's appropriate.

 

Before moving on to other fishy, sauce destinations I leave Japan with a bottle (one of several) I bought a couple of years ago in Tokyo's Haneda airport. 

 

Haku Iwashi Whisky Barrel Aged Fish Sauce.

 

 

Incredible.

 

 

[liuzhou]

This won't take long. Of all the fish sauce producing nations, the least fastidious about their sauce must be the Philippines. National pride doesn't seem to extend to their dinner table.

 

Patis, as it's known in Filipino is made in the Philippines but some of their top brands are simply a Thai made nam pla with a Filipino label.

 

True Filipino fish sauce is made from a variety of scad (related to mackerel), known locally as galunggong  but to scientists as Decapterus macrosoma.

 

It was originally just a by-product from the production of bagoong, meaning 'fermented fish'. A popular Filipino dish.

 

The fish sauce is added to soups and used it various dishes, which will be described on menus as pinatisan, meaning 'cooked with patis'.

 

The most common dip (sawsawan) is made by mixing fish sauce with chilli (sili) and calamansi / kalamansi, a citrus from which is a hybrid of kumquat and mandarin orange.

 

A true Filipino brand is Rufina, often called Pufina, due to the ill-considered label design.

 

 

Available on Amazon.

 

[C. sapidus]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

This won't take long. Of all the fish sauce producing nations, the least fastidious about their sauce must be the Philippines. National pride doesn't seem to extend to their dinner table.

 

Patis, as it's known in Filipino is made in the Philippines but some of their top brands are simply a Thai made nam pla with a Filipino label.

 

True Filipino fish sauce is made from a variety of scad (related to mackerel), known locally as galunggong  but to scientists as Decapterus macrosoma.

 

It was originally just a by-product from the production of bagoong, meaning 'fermented fish'. A popular Filipino dish.

 

The fish sauce is added to soups and used it various dishes, which will be described on menus as pinatisan, meaning 'cooked with patis'.

 

The most common dip (sawsawan) is made by mixing fish sauce with chilli (sili) and calamansi / kalamansi, a citrus from which is a hybrid of kumquat and mandarin orange.

 

A true Filipino brand is Rufina, often called Pufina, due to the ill-considered label design.

 

 

Available on Amazon.

 

 

I have seen that one available locally.

[liuzhou]

On second thoughts, perhaps top prize in the 'we don't care where our sauce comes from' challenge is Indonesia. Known as kecap ikan, their fish sauce is often just imported, re labeled Thai nam pla or Vietnamese nước mắm.

 

There is real made in Indonesia fish sauce, but it seems to be a minority.

 

This is one.

 

Indonesian kecap ikan - limone.id

So, be careful. Check where it's really from then check that it is 'ikan' which means 'fish'. Kecap on its own is soy sauce, but generally just means 'sauce ', of which there are many.

 

Look out for kecap Inggris or kecap which is a popular Indonesian version of Worcestershire sauce. 'Inggris' means 'English.  English sauce! It doesn't contain fish. English Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies.

 

Note: They don't even care enough to spell their own language correctly on the label.

 

Kecap Inggris - grandlagunashop.com

 

 

 

[KennethT]

2 hours ago, liuzhou said:

On second thoughts, perhaps top prize in the 'we don't care where our sauce comes from' challenge is Indonesia. Known as kecap ikan, their fish sauce is often just imported, re labeled Thai nam pla or Vietnamese nước mắm.

 

There is real made in Indonesia fish sauce, but it seems to be a minority.

 

This is one.

 

Indonesian kecap ikan - limone.id

So, be careful. Check where it's really from then check that it is 'ikan' which means 'fish'. Kecap on its own is soy sauce, but generally just means 'sauce ', of which there are many.

 

Look out for kecap Inggris or kecap which is a popular Indonesian version of Worcestershire sauce. 'Inggris' means 'English.  English sauce! It doesn't contain fish. English Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies.

 

Note: They don't even care enough to spell their own language correctly on the label.

 

Kecap Inggris - grandlagunashop.com

 

 

 

I haven't come across any Indonesian dish that uses fish sauce (from anywhere) yet - certainly not in the regional cooking of a few areas that I've been studying. Maybe that's why they don't care about it?

[liuzhou]

13 minutes ago, KennethT said:

I haven't come across any Indonesian dish that uses fish sauce (from anywhere) yet - certainly not in the regional cooking of a few areas that I've been studying. Maybe that's why they don't care about it?

 

Maybe, but someone must be using it or they wouldn't be importing it or making it.

 

Most of the fish sauce here in China is also imported.

 

Anyway, I think I'm finished with Asian fish sauces. 

 

[Duvel]

4 hours ago, KennethT said:

I haven't come across any Indonesian dish that uses fish sauce (from anywhere) yet - certainly not in the regional cooking of a few areas that I've been studying. Maybe that's why they don't care about it?

AFAIK, gado gado dressing is often made with fish sauce (and occasionally with shrimp paste) …

[KennethT]

3 hours ago, Duvel said:

AFAIK, gado gado dressing is often made with fish sauce (and occasionally with shrimp paste) …

Interesting.  None of the Aunties or Uncles I've seen make it use either a fish sauce or shrimp paste - but one thing I didn't realize is that they all used kencur - fresh sand ginger - which is nice to know that there's another application for what I brought home from Indonesia and what I'm growing.

[liuzhou]

Before leaving Asia, I have to mention this one fish sauce from Phú Quốc, Việt Nam.

 

Two of the island's top producers have cooperated in makinfg a special sauce. BLiS and Red Boat have made a smoked type. They took

 

"Red Boat 40°N and aged it in charred barrels for 7 months. The result is pretty extraordinary. It’s rich, smoky and peaty—and when I say smoky, I mean smoke for days. Like drinking Laphroaig around a campfire while smoking a brisket."

 

This quote is from a review of fish sauces from this New Zealand site.

 

https://foody.nz/blogs/news/fish-sauce-taste-test-13-brands-compared

 

The tasting and subsequent write up are more considered than is often the case with this sort of internet page. A recommended read.

 

I haven't, I'm sad to say, sampled this one but I am a Laphroaig fan. The hunt is on.

 

 

[KennethT]

17 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

Before leaving Asia, I have to mention this one fish sauce from Phú Quốc, Việt Nam.

 

Two of the island's top producers have cooperated in makinfg a special sauce. BLiS and Red Boat have made a smoked type. They took

 

"Red Boat 40°N and aged it in charred barrels for 7 months. The result is pretty extraordinary. It’s rich, smoky and peaty—and when I say smoky, I mean smoke for days. Like drinking Laphroaig around a campfire while smoking a brisket."

 

This quote is from a review of fish sauces from this New Zealand site.

 

https://foody.nz/blogs/news/fish-sauce-taste-test-13-brands-compared

 

The tasting and subsequent write up are more considered than is often the case with this sort of internet page. A recommended read.

 

I haven't, I'm sad to say, sampled this one but I am a Laphroaig fan. The hunt is on.

 

 

Fascinating - I'm wondering what I'd use it for and trying to think of what I've had in Vietnam that would work well with it.  I'd be a bit worried that it would be amazing on first taste, but eating a whole meal or dish made with it would get to be too much.

[C. sapidus]

27 minutes ago, liuzhou said:

. . . Like drinking Laphroaig around a campfire while smoking a brisket."

 

 

 

Sign me up!

[liuzhou]

29 minutes ago, KennethT said:

Fascinating - I'm wondering what I'd use it for and trying to think of what I've had in Vietnam that would work well with it.  I'd be a bit worried that it would be amazing on first taste, but eating a whole meal or dish made with it would get to be too much.

 

I can see it as a dip in one of the many grilled meat / BBQ scenarios.

 

 

 

[liuzhou]

Whether you buy into the theory that the Romans brought fish sauce to Asia along the Silk Road or you prefer the alternative, that it was invented independently, there is no denying the importance fish and fish sauces had in the Roman Empire and therefore Europe.

 

It is certain that the Greeks introduced garos  to the Romans who Latinised it into garum. The problem is that no one is entirely sure what garum was. Later, the Romans started talking about a fish sauce they called liquamen. Was this simply garum renamed and if so, why? And what was haimation?

 

The famous 4th century CE cookbook referred to as Apicius includes numerous dishes using liquamen but only mentions garum in passing.

 

Garum then disappeared in the 5th century, to be followed by liquamen soon after, coinciding almost with the fall of the Empire.

 

There is a detailed account of the historical and linguistic confusion and uncertainties here.

 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11457-018-9211-5

 

Well worth a read if you are at all interested.

 

I'll be looking into European fish sauces next, when I have time and the current eG access problem is resolved. But I won't be starting in Italy.