Fish sauce is a condiment made from fermented fish and salt. It is used as a staple ingredient in various cuisines in Southeast and East Asia, particularly Burmese, Cambodian, Filipino, Thai, Lao and Vietnamese cuisines. Historically, it was also used in Ancient Greek and in Roman cuisine (known as garum).
Fish sauce is added to dishes during the cooking process as well as being used as a base in dipping sauces. Fish sauce and its derivatives impart an umami flavor to food due to its glutamate content.
Ingredients
Fish sauces may be prepared from different species of fish and shellfish, and from using the whole fish, or by using just fish blood or viscera. Most fish sauces contain only fish and salt, but some add a variety of herbs and spices.
Fish sauce that has been only briefly fermented has a pronounced fishy taste. Extended fermentation reduces this and gives the product a nuttier, richer and more savory flavor. An anonymous article, "Neuc-num", in Diderot and d'Alembert's 18th-century Encyclopédie, states: "It is said that Europeans become accustomed enough to this type of sauce".
A southeastern Chinese fish sauce, called kôechiap in Hokkien Chinese, might be the precursor of ketchup. Sauces made from fermented fish parts with other ingredients, such as meat and soya bean added to it, have been recorded in China 2300 years ago.
Regional variations
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian fish sauce is often made from anchovies, salt, and water, and is intensely flavoured. Anchovies and salt are arranged in wooden barrels to ferment and are slowly pressed, yielding the salty, fishy liquid. The salt extracts the liquid via osmosis.
The variety from Vietnam is called nÆ°á»›c mắm. Two areas in Vietnam are most famous for producing fish sauce: Phú Quá»'c and Phan Thiết. Popular brands include Red Boat, 3 Crabs, Golden Boy, and Hon Phan Thiết.
Vietnamese fish sauces are made with only two ingredients: anchovies and salt. They do not have any additives like sugar, hydrolyzed protein, or preservatives. Vietnamese prefer sauces without a strong smell , and transparent with a deep golden amber color. “First press†fish sauce, meaning the sauce is bottled from the first time the fermenting barrels are drained, also indicates quality. Lastly, when measuring the nitrogen level of fish sauces (N), most fish sauce on the market falls within the mid 20N range. Anything over 30N is considered high-grade, and 40N is optimal.
Nước chấm is a Vietnamese prepared fish sauce that is savory, lightly sweet and salty tasting, and can be sour and spicy if lime and chili peppers are added. The main components are fish sauce, water, and sugar. In Vietnam, there is a popular food item called mắm, which is made the same way as fish sauce, except that both the fish and the liquid extract, not just the liquid, are kept. Mắm is also fermented for a shorter period than fish sauce. Mắm is either eaten as is (uncooked), or cooked in soups or stir-fries.
Similar condiments from Thailand and Burma are called nam pla (น้ำปลา) and ngan bya yay (ငံပြာရည်), respectively. In Lao/Isan, it is called nam pa, but a chunkier, more aromatic version known as padaek is also used. Similar to padaek is pla ra used in Thai cuisine. In Cambodia, fish sauce is known as teuk trei (áž'ឹកážáŸ'រី), of which there are a variety of sauces using fish sauce as a base.
The Indonesian semi-solid fish paste terasi, the Cambodian prahok and the Malay fermented krill brick belacan or budu from liquid anchovies are other popular variations of fish sauces.
The similar Philippine version common to Indochina is called patis. Patis, a by-product of bagoong, is nearly always cooked prior to consumption, even when used as an accent to salads or other raw dishes. Patis is also used as an ingredient in cooked dishes, including a rice porridge called arroz caldo, and as a condiment for fried fish. Patis is also used in place of table salt in meals to enhance the flavor of the food, where it can either be dashed from a dispensing bottle onto the food, or poured into a saucer and mixed with calamansi and used as a dipping sauce.
Southeast Asians generally use fish sauce as a cooking sauce. However, there is a sweet and sour version of this sauce which is used more commonly as a dipping sauce (see nước chấm). In Thai cuisine, fish sauce is used both in cooking and also served at the table for use as a condiment, for instance in noodle soups. In addition, nearly every Thai meal is served with phrik nam pla as a condiment: a mixture of fish sauce, lime juice, and chopped bird's eye chilies. Sliced garlic is often added to this sauce.
Japan
In Japan, fish sauce variations are used as a seasoning of local specialties. Ishiru in the Noto Peninsula is made from sardine and squid. Shottsuru of Akita Prefecture is mainly made from sailfin sandfish. Ikanago shoyu of Kagawa Prefecture is made from sand lance. They are often reserved for the preparation of nabemono.
Korea
In Korea, fish sauce is called eojang (Korean: 어장). Across the Korean Peninsula, aekjeot (Korean: ì•¡ì ", literally "liquid jeotgal"), a type of eojang usually made of fermented myeolchi (anchovy) or kkanari (sand lance), is used as a crucial ingredient in many types of kimchi, both for taste and fermentation.
On Jeju island, eoganjang (Korean: 어간장), made of fermented godori (young chub mackerel), or jeongaengi (horse mackerel), is used as a soy sauce substitute.
Europe
Fish sauces were widely used in ancient western cuisine. The earliest known reports of fish sauce are from ancient Greece between 4-3rd century BC. It was made with a lower salt content than modern fish sauces.
A salty fermented fish sauce was ubiquitous in Classical Roman cooking. In Latin it is known as garum or liquamen. This garum also existed in many varieties such as oenogarum (mixed with wine), oxygarum (mixed with vinegar) and meligarum (mixed with honey). Garum was one of the trade specialties in Hispania Baetica. It was made of a variety of fish including tuna, mackerel, moray eel, and anchovies. Garum was frequently maligned as smelling bad or rotten, being called, for example, "evil-smelling fish sauce" and is said to be similar to modern Colatura di Alici, a fish sauce used in Neapolitan cuisine.
In English garum was formerly translated as fishpickle. The original Worcestershire sauce is a related product because it is fermented and contains anchovies.
Gallery
See also
References
Further reading
- Cooks Illustrated (September/October 2015) "Fish Sauce Taste Test" https://www.cooksillustrated.com/taste_tests/1625-fish-sauce
- Hastings (2015) Fish Sauce a versatile ingredient that works in many cuisines http://www.journalnow.com/home_food/food/fish-sauce-a-versatile-ingredient-that-works-in-many-cuisines/article_bb1deeb7-5b92-5168-b25d-400a7cbcf30a.html
- Hildebrant (2014) "Fish Sauce Taste Test, 13 Brands Compared" from Our Daily Brine
- Murdoch (2004) Essential Seafood Cookbook Seafood sauces, p. 128â€"143. Murdoch Books. ISBN 978-1-74045-412-4.
- Nguyen (2008) "How to Buy Fish Sauce: A Guide" from Viet World Kitchen
- Rosen (2013) "Can Fish Sauce Be Vietnam's Champagne?" from The Atlantic
- Johnson (2015) "3 Reasons To Get A Little More Umami in your Diet" from US News health. http://health.usnews.com/health-news/blogs/eat-run/2015/10/09/3-reasons-to-get-a-little-more-umami-in-your-diet
- Prichep, Deena (October 26, 2013). "Fish Sauce: An Ancient Roman Condiment Rises Again". NPR. Retrieved 5 November 2013.Â
- Meewes, Veronica (2015) The Fish Sauce Cookbook published by Andrews McMeel ISBN, 9781449468699
External links
- Phu Quoc fish sauce guide from PhuQuocIslandGuide.com
- Making Vietnamese prepared fish sauce dipping sauce (nước chấm) from HungryHuy.com
