Fish sauce

A drop of fish sauce

Fish sauce is an Asian cooking ingredient. It is made from fish or krill which has been coated in salt and then fermented for up to two years.^[1] It is used as a seasoning in quite a lot of Asian dishes, particularly those from Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Fish sauce is used by chefs to add the umami flavor to dishes. Soy sauce is sometimes considered a vegetarian alternative to fish sauce.

In French and international cuisine the corresponding term is fish stock. That is made differently and tastes different.

Fish Sauce Media

Fish sauce fermentation containers in Phú Quốc, Vietnam
Ruins of a Roman garum factory near Tarifa, Spain
Ancient Roman garum factory in Portugal
left: two amphores for garum; *deutsch: Zwei Amphoren für die durch enzymatische Zerlegung gewonnene römische Fischwürzsoße Garum; Aufgenommen während der Pompeji-Ausstellung Europäischer Kulturpark Bliesbruck
Cambodian sweet fish sauce mixed with chopped chili peppers and slices of garlic
Traditional burnay jars containing fermenting bagoong in Ilocos Norte
Commercial patis sold in the Philippines
Dipping sauce made from patis with siling labuyo peppers
Phrik nam pla ("fish sauce with chili") is served with some Thai meals
Prepared fish sauces in Thailand