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Fish Sauces
A Fish Sauce is generally defined as a sauce made with fish as a main ingredient in the sauce, rather than as a sauce to be served with fish.
Though versions have been made since Ancient Greece, most people now think of Fish Sauce as a fermented sauce made from fish throughout Asia, with regional variations of course. The most well-known style in the West currently (2007) is Thai.
Fish Sauce in general is made from seafood such as shrimp or shellfish, and either fish so small they don't otherwise have a commercial value, or parts of fish with no commercial value. The fish used can be freshwater or saltwater, raw or dried, and one type of fish, or several. The whole fish may be used, or only the head, innards and blood.
The fish are fermented. A short fermentation preserves a fishier taste; a longer one changes the taste far more.
All Fish Sauces have a strong, salty taste. They are used in place of both salt and soy sauce.
Some versions add herbs and spices.
Thai Fish Sauce
Fish sauce is called "nam pla" in Thai, meaning literally "fish water."
There are four grades of Fish Sauce made in Thailand.
All will be a reddish-brown sauce; better quality ones will be somewhat transparent, rather than murky. All are generally made from very small fish, such as anchovies.
The fish are caught and, while still very fresh, rinsed, then packed in layers in large clay jars. There will be a sea salt, then a layer of fish, then similarly repeating layers (starting and ending with salt) until the jar is filled. The jar is then covered with a bamboo mat with a weight on it, to press it all down, and let sit in a sunny spot for 9 to 12 months to ferment. The jar is uncovered from time to time to let fresh air in. During this time, the salt draws out the liquids from the fish as the fish decompose.
The liquid is removed either by siphoning or through spigots at the bottoms of the jars. The liquid is then filtered through cloth, and put into uncovered large jars for a few weeks to allow the strong odours to weaken. It is then bottled. The remains of the fish still in the first clay fermenting jars have salt water added to them, and are allowed to sit for 2 to 3 months, for a lesser, second-grade of fish sauce to be produced. This liquid is then drawn off and filtered, then more salt water is added to what's left in the jars to make third grade Fish Sauce. Finally, the lowest grade (fourth grade) is made by boiling anything leftover in salt water.
First grade Fish Sauce is sometimes, instead of being sold on its own, added to second and third grade sauces, which are cheaper and more marketable, to improve their flavour.
Some producers add enzymes to speed up the fermentation process. Some dilute the fish sauce with flavoured, coloured water.
Good quality Thai Fish Sauce should be reddish brown. It will smell like the sea, but not overwhelm you with a fish smell or taste. It will still have, though, a pungent smell that diminishes in cooking.
If the Fish Sauce is very dark or murky, it's a low grade or not a pure one. Such low-grade Fish Sauces may contain ingredients like hydrolysed wheat protein and fructose. Pure ones will probably just list on the bottle as ingredients something like Anchovy fish extract, salt and sugar.
Vietnamese Fish Sauce
The Fish Sauce produced in Vietnam (called "nước mắm" in Vietnamese) is a golden-coloured one that is fermented for a year in wooden vats in the dark.
In Vietnamese, "nuóc" means "water"; "mám" means "salted fish".
Vietnamese Fish Sauce was essentially off the market outside of Vietnam from 1975 until the United States lifted trade embargoes against Vietnam in 1994. This period of almost 20 years allowed other countries to make a name in Western markets for their versions of Fish Sauces -- and to market some of their Fish Sauces as imitations of Vietnamese versions.
Areas in Vietnam known for their high quality of fish sauce are Phan Thiet, and the island of Phu Quoc (since the 1800s) in southwestern Vietnam.
Phu Quoc fish sauce is made from anchovies from the Gulf of Thailand.
The Vietnamese government is now (2007) seeking protection within the EU to ensure that, in the EU, only fish sauce produced on the island of Phu Quoc can be called "Phu Quoc." The Vietnamese feel that many producers, particularly Thai ones, are stilly trying subtly on their bottles to imply that the fish sauce is Vietnamese.
Japanese Fish Sauce
In Japan alone, there are three different types of fish sauce made: shottsuru (from Akita Prefecture), ishiru (from Ishikawa Prefecture) and ikanago-jōyu (from Kagawa Prefecture.) All are made from fish and shellfish.
Japanese versions are milder because Japanese consumers don't like the strong fish smell of many imported brands.
Fish sauce has been far less popular in Japan than soy sauce. Its popularity only started to increase in the 1990s owing to increased familiarity with dishes from elsewhere in Asia.
Substitutes
2 tablespoons fermented black beans
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon miso
1 teaspoon sherry
Rinse excess salt off beans, if desired. Mash them in a bowl. Add soy sauce and sherry, stir all to combine, let stand for 10 minutes.
Strain, keeping liquid to use as a fish sauce substitute, and discarding the rest.
Storage
Store Thai Fish Sauce at room temperature in a cool, dark place. Refrigeration will cause the sauce to crystalize. Use within 2 years.
History
The Greeks and Romans made fish sauces that were sold commercially for hundreds of years, though their exact recipes have been lost.
Nowadays, the word "garum" tends to be used generically as the Roman word for "fish sauce", but that wasn't actually the case. "Garum" was a Roman fish sauce made from the entrails and blood of a mixture of fish, but predominantly mackerel. "Liquamen" was a fish sauce made from anchovy.
Acknowlegements
Nguyen, Mary. Vietnamese Fish Sauce. Trade Environment Database (TED) Case Studies, Number 769. 2004. Retrieved July 2006 from http://www.american.edu/TED/vietnam-fish-sauce.htm.
Also called:  Fermented Fish Sauce Fischsoße (German)
Other entries for Fish Sauces
Allec, Garum Ibericum, Garum, Liquamen, Muria, Pissala
Other entries for Sauces
Aillade, Albert Sauce, Allemande Sauce, Amazu Sauce, Awasezu, A.1. Steak Sauce, Banquière Sauce, Barbeque Sauce, Beurre Blanc, Béarnaise Sauce, Black Mint Sauce, Brown Butter, Brown Sauce (English), Butter Sauce, Chile con Queso, Chiri-zu Sauce, Coronation Sauce, Creamed Horseradish, Drawn Butter Sauce, Espagnole Sauce, Finadene Sauce, Gravy, Halford Sauce, Harissa, Hoisin Sauce, Hollandaise Sauce, Horseradish Sauce, Ketchup, Ketjap Manis, Marie Rose Sauce, Matelote Sauce, Melted Butter, Meunière Butter, Mint Sauce, Mojo Sauces, Mojo (Cuban), Mole, Murri, Nikiri Sauce, Nitsume Sauce, Noisette Butter, Normande Sauce, Paloise Sauce, Panade à la frangipane, Parisienne Sauce, Pasta Sauce, Pizza Sauce, Poivrade Sauce, Ponzu Sauce, Provençal Sauce, Reform Sauce, Rémoulade Sauce, Rice Wine, Salad Dressings, Salmuera, Salsas, Sambals, Sambi-Zu Sauce, Sanbai Zu Sauce, Sauce Béarnaise, Sauce Diane, Sauce Maltaise, Soubise Sauce, Soy Sauce, Sriracha, Sushi-zu, Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce, Tabasco, Tamari, Tapenade, Tartar Sauce, Teriyaki Sauce, Tonkatsu Sauce, Vatapá, Velouté Sauce, Walnut Sauce, White Sauce, Worcestershire Sauce, XO Sauce, Yakiniku Sauce, Yakitori Sauce
Other entries for Condiments
Liebig's Extract of Meat, Mayonnaise, Pastes, Relish, Spreads, Tracklements, Vinegar, Wasabi
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