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Fermented fish sauce: how it is made and used in cooking

04.13.2020 (Updated: 03.02.2024)

We call it patis in the Philippines. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, it is nam pla in Thailand, nuoc mam in Vietnam, nam pa in Laos, tuk trey in Cambodia, ngan-pya-ye in Myanmar (Burma), and ketjap ikan in Indonesia.

Seasoning Thai-style fried rice with fish sauce

Yes, fish sauce is ubiquitous in Southeast Asian cookery. Non-Asians might have encountered bottled fish sauce as a tableside condiment that can be drizzled over cooked food. But fish sauce isn’t just something added to food after it has been cooked.

We season food with fish sauce before, during as well as after cooking. It is an important ingredient in marinades. And, in many cases, it takes the place of salt when cooking soups and stews.

What exactly is fish sauce?

There are fish that have no real retail value either because they are too smelly, they have too little flesh for eating or there are simply too much of them. They are used for making fish sauce. Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines are all fish sauce-producing and exporting countries.

Fish sauce is the liquid extracted by mixing fish with salt, and allowing the mixture to ferment until the proteins break down. The extract has a deeply nuanced savory flavor.

Fish sauce comes in various grades

Know that there is premium fish sauce, good fish sauce and so-so fish sauce where the flavor of fish is almost non-existent.

High quality or better grades of patis are prepared from anchovies, goby fry, herring fry and small shrimps. A cheaper grade of patis is prepared by mixing the residue from which a series of extraction with saturated brine solution has been made. Others sell the residue which is ground and mixed with saturated brine to get the proper consistency…

Preliminary Studies on the Comparative Chemical Composition of Different Commercial Brands of “Patis” in the Philippines

When buying fish sauce, avoid those with visible residue. The liquid should be clear; the color golden to amber.

Fish sauce in Southeast Asian cookery

Vietnamese mixed fish sauce
We learned the proper way to make Vietnamese mixed fish sauce at a cooking class in Cu Chi, Vietnam

The most common way to use fish sauce is to serve it for dipping cooked food. The dipping sauce can be pure fish sauce or a mixed fish sauce. Mixed fish sauce has endless varieties. In Vietnam for example, fish sauce is mixed with citrus juice, garlic, sugar and chilies to make nuoc cham. In the Philippines, fish sauce with calamansi juice and chilies is a popular dipping sauce for fried meat and fish.

Fish sauce in marinades

Air fried lemongrass pork belly with dipping sauce

Air fried lemongrass pork belly

Vietnamese beef stew

Vietnamese beef stew

Vietnamese shrimp spring rolls with herbs and dipping sauce

Shrimp spring rolls

Fish sauce in soups and stews

Cambodian / Vietnamese caramelized pork and eggs served with rice

Caramelized pork and eggs

Pork rendang over rice

Pork rendang

Shrimp tom yum

Shrimp tom yum

Fish sauce in stir fries

Pork larb (laab), the national dish of Laos

Pork larb (laab)

Thai basil chicken (pad krapow gai) served with rice and fried egg

Thai basil chicken (pad krapow gai)

Thai fried rice

Thai-style fried rice

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, the blog owner earns commission from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.

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Connie Veneracion, 2020

Hi, I’m Connie!

Home cook and writer by passion, photographer by necessity, and good food, coffee and wine lover forever. I write recipes, cooking tips and food stories. No AI is used in creating content for this blog.

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