Can You Purchase Vegan Fish Sauce? Plus, 6 Manufacturers to Attempt

It’s salty, fishy, and the go-to for including that addictive umami component to dishes like pad Thai, stir-fries, ramen, marinades, and extra, however is there any approach to make fish sauce vegan? We’ll reduce to the chase: it’s a giant sure.

It seems, there are a couple of other ways to duplicate the signature deep taste of fish sauce utilizing solely plant-based elements. However when you don’t need to make it, you may also purchase it, too. Right here, we’ve gathered a few of the finest vegan fish sauce manufacturers available on the market. However first, what really is fish sauce? And the way do you make it vegan?

What’s fish sauce?

It looks as if an apparent reply to an apparent query, however fish sauce is, in fact, made with fish. However that stated, there’s additionally a bit of extra complexity to it. To get that deep, salty, candy, pungent taste, the fish should be fermented for a minimum of a couple of months. In some cases, it’s fermented for as much as two years.

“Small fish like anchovies are coated in salt and packed in massive barrels to hang around,” explains Bon Appétit. “The pure bacterias begin to break down the fish, producing a briny, fishy, savory liquid. That, associates, is fish sauce.”

Fish sauce can be utilized in many various dishes so as to add extra depth of taste, however it’s significantly fashionable in Southeast Asian delicacies. In response to The Spruce Eats, in Thailand, it’s a standard desk condiment, and it’s commonplace for individuals to use it liberally to their meals after it’s been served, identical to salt and pepper.

What’s vegan fish sauce comprised of?

The important thing ingredient in fish sauce could also be fermented fish, however there are methods to duplicate it with out utilizing animal elements. Typically, recipes are made with seaweed to get that distinct seafood taste. Dried shiitake mushrooms can add a component of earthiness, and, salt, in fact, is a should. 

Methods to make vegan fish sauce

There are a selection of recipes obtainable to information you thru the method of constructing vegan fish sauce. There’s this one from Minimalist Baker, for instance, which makes use of sea salt, shiitake mushrooms, dulse seaweed, chickpea miso, and tamari. Or this one from The Foodie Takes Flight merely makes use of coconut sugar, sea salt, lime juice, and purple chili.

Whenever you’ve made your vegan fish sauce, some of the fashionable methods to make use of it’s in Pad Thai. Observe this recipe for a candy, savory, saucy, and satisfying pad Thai, that includes vegan fish sauce and crispy pan-fried tofu. 

Vegan fish sauce manufacturers

In the event you don’t have quite a lot of time in your palms, otherwise you’d merely reasonably purchase fish sauce than make it, it’s potential to seek out vegan variations of fish sauce on-line or on retailer cabinets. Right here, we’ve gathered a couple of of one of the best manufacturers available on the market, in no explicit order.

1 Ocean’s Halo

For fishy snacks and sauces with out, properly, the fish, Ocean’s Halo is likely one of the finest manufacturers to take a look at. It gives a spread of seaweed-based snacks, in addition to vegan broth, dressings, marinades, and, in fact, its personal Vegan Fish Sauce. Its kelp-based recipe is completely soy-free, natural, and gluten-free.
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Sozyë

2 Sozyë

British model Sozyë was based by Jacob Thundil, who can also be the brains behind the favored coconut water model Cocofina. Throughout lockdown in 2020, he determined to make use of Scottish seaweed as a soya alternative in sauces and created three completely different natural, soy-free merchandise: Noya (a soya sauce different), Oyster (an oyster sauce different), and Nish (a fish sauce different). In response to Sozyë, Nish is brewed within the UK utilizing sustainable seaweed to “seize the style of the ocean.”
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Chilli Mash Firm

3 Chilli Mash Firm

The Chilli Mash Firm is finest recognized for, you guessed it, chili mash. But it surely additionally consists of a number of different condiments and sauces, together with Reaper Sizzling Sauce, Habanero Chilli Jam, and non-chili associated merchandise, like banana jam and Vfish, a completely vegan fish sauce different, which is made with two forms of seaweed.
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Earthly Connoisseur

4 Earthly Connoisseur

Primarily based in Portland, OR, Earthly Connoisseur is on a mission to make vegan meals extra accessible within the Pacific Northwest. Its fashionable vary of merchandise consists of Tofuna Fysh sauce, which is a vegan fish sauce made with elements like seaweed, tamari, horseradish, and pineapple juice.
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5 Au Lac 

For genuine Southeast Asian vegan fish sauce, take a look at Au Lac, which is likely one of the main producers of vegan meals in Vietnam. Made with simply three elements, soybeans, water, and salt, this sauce will add that scrumptious and extremely sought-after umami component to any dish.
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6 Better of Thailand 

For depth of taste, Better of Thailand’s vegetarian fish sauce is likely one of the finest condiments you may have available. The sport-changer ingredient is fermented soybeans, that are mixed with seaweed to get that genuine and deliciously fishy style.
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