Fish sauce is a staple ingredient of Vietnamese cooking. Making fish sauce involves fermenting anchovies and salt. Vietnamese cooks use fish sauce in almost everything, just as many cooks in the United States frequently use salt. Use fish sauce in dipping sauces, stir-fries, soups and rice noodle dishes. Fish sauce lends a savory, depth of flavor but is not vegetarian friendly. Replace the anchovies with mushrooms, fermented soy and seaweed to get a similar flavor without using fish.
Soy Sauce and Spices
Fermented foods, such as soy sauce, have a deep, savory flavor. Make 3 cups of vegetarian fish sauce using 1 cup of soy sauce. Use a mushroom-based soy sauce to make your fish sauce more savory. For a reduced sodium fish sauce, substitute low-sodium soy sauce or liquid aminos and a few dried shitake mushrooms. Add 1 tbsp. peppercorns, 6 cloves of garlic and 1 1/2 cups shredded wakame seaweed to make 3 cups of vegetarian fish sauce.
Miso
Miso paste consists of cooked soy beans fermented with sea salt and a mold starter called koji. Combine 1 tbsp. of miso paste with the soy sauce, mushrooms and spices to make 3 cups of vegetarian fish sauce. Purchase miso paste in a refrigerated tub from your local health food store. On her website, registered dietitian Leslie Beck writes that the beneficial bacteria in fermented miso paste may aid digestion.
Process
Make vegetarian fish sauce by heating the miso, soy sauce and spices with water on a stovetop. Use 6 cups of water to make 3 cups of fish sauce. Simmer the ingredients for 20 minutes, then strain the solids. Return the liquids to the stove. Reduce the sauce to 3 cups, or until it becomes extremely salty. Store the fish sauce in the refrigerator using a glass bottle. Use fish sauce sparingly because it is high in sodium.
Store-Bought Fish Sauce
Purchase vegetarian fish sauce in Asian food markets if you prefer, although it is not as flavorful, according Andrea Nguyen, cooking instructor and creator of Viet World Kitchen blog. Commercially produced vegetarian fish sauce contains ingredients such as rice vinegar, peanuts, soybeans, water, salt and sugar. Although store-bought fish sauce has a similar color, it tastes and smells milder.
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