Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some garum-related fish sauces have been used in the West since the Roman times. Due to its ability to add a savory umami flavor to dishes, it has been embraced globally by chefs and home cooks. The umami flavor in fish sauce is due to its glutamate content. Fish sauce is used as a seasoning during or after cooking, and as a base in dipping sauces. Soy sauce is regarded by some in the West as a vegetarian alternative to fish sauce though they are very different in flavor.
History
Asia Sauces that included fermented fish parts with other ingredients such as meat and soybean were recorded in China, 2300 years ago. During the Zhou dynasty of ancient China, fish fermented with soybeans and salt was used as a condiment. By the time of the Han dynasty, soybeans were fermented without the fish into soy paste and its by-product soy sauce, with fermented fish-based sauces developing separately into fish sauce. A fish sauce, called kôechiap (Chinese: 膎汁) in Hokkien Chinese, might be the precursor of ketchup. This word survives in the Malay kecap or kicap, both terms on their own however semantically narrowed in usual parlance to mean "soy sauce" (e.g. kecap manis lit. 'sweet kicap') whereas the fish liquid still in use today has been termed as kicap ikan i.e. "fish kicap". By 50–100 BC, demand for fish sauces and fish pastes in China had fallen drastically, with fermented bean products becoming a major trade commodity. Fish sauce, however, developed massive popularity in Southeast Asia. Food scholars traditionally divide East Asia into two distinct condiment regions, separated by a bean-fish divide: Southeast Asia using fermented fish (Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia), and Northeast Asia using fermented beans (China, Korea, Japan). Fish sauce re-entered China in the 17th and 18th centuries, brought from Vietnam and Cambodia by Chinese traders up the coast of the southern provinces, Guangdong and Fujian.
Europe Fish sauces were widely used in ancient Mediterranean cuisine. The earliest recorded production was between 4th–3rd century BC by the Ancient Greeks, who fermented scraps of fish called garos into one.It is believed to have been made with a lower salt content than modern fish sauces. The Romans made a similar condiment called either garum or liquamen. According to Pliny the Elder, "garum consists of the guts of fish and other parts that would otherwise be considered refuse so that garum is really the liquor from putrefaction." Garum was made in the Roman outposts of Spain almost exclusively from mackerel by salting the scrap fish innards, and then sun fermenting the flesh until it fell apart, usually for several months. The brown liquid would then be strained, bottled, and sold as a condiment. Remains of Roman fish salting facilities can still be seen, including in Algeciras in Spain and near Setúbal in Portugal. The process lasted until the 16th century when garum makers switched to anchovy and removed the innards. Garum was ubiquitous in Classical Roman cooking. Mixed with wine it was known as oenogarum, or with vinegar, oxygarum, or mixed with honey, meligarum. Garum was one of the trade specialties in Hispania Baetica. Garum was frequently maligned as smelling bad or rotten, being called, for example, "evil-smelling fish sauce" and is said to be similar to modern colatura di alici, a fish sauce used in Neapolitan cuisine. In English garum was formerly translated as fish pickle. The original Worcestershire sauce is a related product because it is fermented and contains anchovies.
Difference from oyster sauce While fish sauce and oyster sauce are both briny and may have related histories, they are different products. Fish sauce is watery, clear, and salty, whereas oyster sauce is made by reducing oyster extracts and therefore sweeter with a hint of salt and not as strong an aroma as fish sauce.
Ingredients and manufacture
Fish sauces historically have been prepared from different species of fish and shellfish, and from using the whole fish, or by using just fish blood or viscera. Most modern fish sauces contain only fish and salt, usually made from anchovy, shrimp, mackerel, or other strong-flavored, high oil fish. Some variants add herbs and spices. For modern fish sauces, fish or shellfish are mixed with salt at a concentration of 10% to 30%. It is then sealed in a closed container for up to two years. Once the original draft has been made, some fish sauces will be produced through a re-extraction of the fish mass via boiling. To improve the visual appearance and add taste, second-pass fish sauces often have added caramel, molasses, or roasted rice. They are thinner, and less costly. Some volume manufacturers of fish sauce will also water down a first-press to manufacture more products. Fish sauce that has been only briefly fermented has a pronounced fishy taste. Extended fermentation reduces this and gives the product a nuttier, richer and more savory flavor. An anonymous article, "Neuc-num", in Diderot and d'Alembert's 18th-century Encyclopédie, states: "It is said that Europeans become accustomed enough to this type of sauce".
Regional variations
Southeast Asia Fish sauce is a fundamental condiment and flavoring widely used in Southeast Asian cuisines. Thai and Cambodian fish sauces are generally milder and less pungent compared to their Vietnamese counterparts.
Myanmar Fish sauce in Myanmar is called ngan bya yay (ငါးငံပြာရည်). It's often a by-product of Hmyin ngapi (မျှင်ငပိ) (Burmese fish paste made from small fish, anchovies, krill and shrimp).
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