What can I make with fish sauce?
Fish Sauce is the fastest protein in most kitchens: usually under ten minutes, start to finish. The recipes below use fish sauce, and the notes after them cover the timing and heat that keep it tender rather than rubbery.
12 recipes with fish sauce
Tom Yum Soup
Hot-and-sour Thai soup with shrimp and lemongrass.
Thai25m3
Laksa
Spicy coconut curry noodle soup with shrimp and tofu puffs.
Malaysian30m4
Thai Green Curry
Coconut-rich green curry with chicken, bamboo shoots, and Thai basil.
Thai30m4
Pad Thai
Stir-fried rice noodles with shrimp, peanuts, and tamarind sauce.
Thai30m4
Massaman Curry
Rich, mildly spiced curry with beef, potatoes, and peanuts.
Thai105m6Pho
Aromatic beef broth with rice noodles and thin-sliced beef.
Vietnamese200m4
Tom yum (hot & sour) soup with prawns
step 1 Bring the stock to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan.
Thai4
Tom kha gai
step 1 Pour the chicken stock and coconut milk into a large saucepan set over a medium heat.
Thai4
Thai fried rice with prawns & peas
step 1 Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a wok, add the onion, garlic and chilli, and cook for 2-3 mins until golden.
Thai4
Thai-style fish broth with greens
step 1 Cook the noodles following pack instructions.
Thai4
Cambodian Stir-fried Morning Glory with Pork, Fermented Soybeans, and Garlic
In a wok or large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat.
4
Prawn & noodle salad with crispy shallots
step 1 For the crispy shallots, heat 5cm of oil until hot in a wok.
Vietnamese4
How to cook fish sauce the easy way
- 1Dry the fish sauce thoroughly and season just before it hits the heat, so the salt does not draw out moisture.
- 2Use a hot, well-oiled pan and lay it away from you. Leave it alone until the edges turn opaque.
- 3Flip once. Most fillets need 3-4 minutes on the first side and barely 1-2 on the second; shrimp cook in about 90 seconds a side.
- 4Take it off while the centre is just translucent. Carryover heat finishes it, and overcooked seafood cannot be rescued.
What goes well with fish sauce
Fish Sauce is at its best with lemon, butter, garlic, dill, chili flakes and white wine. Any two or three of those, plus fish sauce, is already a dinner rather than an ingredient list.
Storing fish sauce
Fresh fish sauce should be cooked the day you buy it, or the day after at the latest, stored over ice in the coldest part of the fridge. Frozen is often the better choice - thaw it overnight in the fridge, never at room temperature. Cooked leftovers keep two days.
Substituting fish sauce
If you are out of fish sauce, look for something that behaves the same way in the pan rather than something that tastes the same. Match the moisture level, the cooking time, and the richness, and adjust the liquid slightly if your substitute releases more water. When in doubt, describe what you actually have in the chat and Mr. Chef will rewrite the recipe around it.
Fish Sauce recipes: common questions
- What can I make with fish sauce and not much else?
- Plenty. With fish sauce plus an onion, garlic, oil, and salt you already have the base of a skillet dinner, a soup, or a simple sauce. Add a starch - rice, pasta, bread, or potatoes - and it becomes a full meal. The recipes above are ordered so the ones needing the fewest extra items come first.
- What is the quickest fish sauce recipe?
- Look for the entries above marked 20 minutes or less. As a rule, anything cut small and cooked in a hot pan beats anything roasted whole, and one-pan recipes save more time in cleanup than in cooking.
- Can I substitute fish sauce?
- In most recipes yes, as long as the replacement plays a similar role - similar moisture, similar cooking time, similar richness. Swapping across roles (a watery vegetable for a starchy one, for instance) usually needs a change in liquid or cooking time too.
- How do I use up leftover fish sauce?
- Fried rice, a frittata, a grain bowl, a soup, or a quesadilla will absorb almost any leftover fish sauce without a recipe. If you want something specific, tell Mr. Chef exactly what is in the fridge and it will build a recipe around it.
- What temperature should fish sauce be cooked to?
- Use an instant-read thermometer rather than timing: 165F for poultry, 160F for ground meat, 145F for whole cuts and fish, all measured at the thickest point away from bone. Rest larger cuts for five minutes before cutting.