Homemade No-Fish-Sauce
A Vegan Alternative to Fish Sauce
Fish sauce is one of the most essential seasonings in Thai cuisine and the biggest hurdle when cooking Thai food vegetarian or vegan. Ready-made No-Fish-Sauce products offer a practical solution, but they can be surprisingly difficult to find in Asian supermarkets. Ordering them online often means paying more for shipping than the sauce itself costs.
This homemade version is easy to put together. Like the commercial alternatives, it is based on seaweed, with dried mushrooms and soy sauce providing the umami depth.
After a first test dish, I was already very happy with the result. Enduring the strong fishy smell during preparation, which was reminiscent of visits to markets with fish sauce vats in Thailand, was well worth it.
Ingredients for approx. 300ml (10 fl oz)
- 3 sheets dried seaweed
- 500ml water
- 1 dried shiitake mushroom
- 2-3 dried wood ear mushrooms
- 5 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
Preparation
First, pour the water into a pot that ideally has a spout, such as a milk pot with a lid. Cut the seaweed sheets into strips and add them to the water. This is very easy if you cut them directly over the pot with scissors.
Then add the dried mushrooms, bring everything to a boil, reduce the heat, and let it simmer covered for about half an hour.
Next, strain the sauce through a sieve to remove the seaweed and mushrooms. Dissolve the sugar in the soy sauce by stirring, then add this mixture to the strained seaweed broth.
Simmer the sauce uncovered for another ten minutes until it has slightly thickened.
Let the finished No-Fish-Sauce cool completely before using it for the first time. It keeps in the refrigerator for several days.
