4 ms·

Fish sauce really is a gift of the gods and it saddens me that this pinnacle of flavour is nearly lost in the western world.

jayd16 5y ago
People see fish sauce and are shocked but Worcestershire sauce is a fish sauce.
- setBoolean 5y ago
  Worcestershire sauce is delicious too but to be fair there are a lot of variants that omit the fish part.
  - kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
    Lea and Perrins definitely used fermented fish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WSiQAVzT1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WSiQAVzT1c
- mc32 5y ago
  I had to look up the ingredients[1]: Anchovies, Tamarind paste and Beer among others. [1]https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-worcestershire-sauce-recipe-1806795 https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-worcestershire-sauce-...
- thaumasiotes 5y ago
  Sure, in the sense that Caesar dressing is a fish sauce. The parts of Worcestershire sauce that you can taste are the vinegar and sugar.
  - wearywanderer 5y ago
    Well you could always crack open a can of anchovies to augment the sauce. It's not as though anchovies are lost to time.
    - desperate 5y ago
      Not yet anyway...
  - peteretep 5y ago
    Maybe I'm just too "in it" from having eaten Thai fish-sauce almost every day for many many years, but I'm not convinced that fish sauce tastes of fish any more than soy sauce tastes of soy or red wine vinegar tastes of red wine. It tastes of salt and umami and ... tastes like fish sauce.
    - __david__ 5y ago
      I think you’re “in it”. I had a partner that loved fish sauce and insisted it didn’t taste “fishy”, but to me, who didn’t grow up with it and generally dislikes “fish” taste, it tastes extremely fishy.
      - 13of40 5y ago
        IMO, fish sauce (and I'm picturing the red boat one my wife buys) is like manna from heaven when there's just a hint of it. Too much, and it starts to taste a little...poopy.
    - thaumasiotes 5y ago
      I use fish sauce in small amounts to make fried rice. (Also present, in large amounts: oil, soy sauce, garlic.) It has no flavor that I can particularly detect at the end of the process. The smell when you open the bottle is overwhelming, and terrible. I wouldn't venture to sample it directly.
  - mxcrossr 5y ago
    I’ve started making Caesar dressing from scratch when I want it, and the anchovies can really shine when you do it yourself.
- Jetrel 5y ago
  Personally, I'm holding out until scientists finally isolate the ingredients of Bestchestershire sauce.
nmfisher 5y ago
On the flipside, I’m an otherwise adventurous eater but I simply can’t stand the taste of fish sauce. It’s why I now mostly avoid Thai food as a whole, the fish sauce is nauseating and overpowering.
cycrutchfield 5y ago
It is still used in Italian cuisine - colatura di alici.
duxup 5y ago
I see it used in recipes in the west often. I'm making a pork recipe tomorrow that uses it.
spoonjim 5y ago
Southern US recipes add it to a lot of stuff.

jayd16 5y ago

People see fish sauce and are shocked but Worcestershire sauce is a fish sauce.

setBoolean 5y ago
Worcestershire sauce is delicious too but to be fair there are a lot of variants that omit the fish part.
- kevin_thibedeau 5y ago
  Lea and Perrins definitely used fermented fish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WSiQAVzT1c https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WSiQAVzT1c
mc32 5y ago
I had to look up the ingredients[1]: Anchovies, Tamarind paste and Beer among others. [1]https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-worcestershire-sauce-recipe-1806795 https://www.thespruceeats.com/homemade-worcestershire-sauce-...
thaumasiotes 5y ago
Sure, in the sense that Caesar dressing is a fish sauce. The parts of Worcestershire sauce that you can taste are the vinegar and sugar.
- wearywanderer 5y ago
  Well you could always crack open a can of anchovies to augment the sauce. It's not as though anchovies are lost to time.
  - desperate 5y ago
    Not yet anyway...
- peteretep 5y ago
  Maybe I'm just too "in it" from having eaten Thai fish-sauce almost every day for many many years, but I'm not convinced that fish sauce tastes of fish any more than soy sauce tastes of soy or red wine vinegar tastes of red wine. It tastes of salt and umami and ... tastes like fish sauce.
  - __david__ 5y ago
    I think you’re “in it”. I had a partner that loved fish sauce and insisted it didn’t taste “fishy”, but to me, who didn’t grow up with it and generally dislikes “fish” taste, it tastes extremely fishy.
    - 13of40 5y ago
      IMO, fish sauce (and I'm picturing the red boat one my wife buys) is like manna from heaven when there's just a hint of it. Too much, and it starts to taste a little...poopy.
  - thaumasiotes 5y ago
    I use fish sauce in small amounts to make fried rice. (Also present, in large amounts: oil, soy sauce, garlic.) It has no flavor that I can particularly detect at the end of the process. The smell when you open the bottle is overwhelming, and terrible. I wouldn't venture to sample it directly.
- mxcrossr 5y ago
  I’ve started making Caesar dressing from scratch when I want it, and the anchovies can really shine when you do it yourself.
Jetrel 5y ago
Personally, I'm holding out until scientists finally isolate the ingredients of Bestchestershire sauce.

nmfisher 5y ago

On the flipside, I’m an otherwise adventurous eater but I simply can’t stand the taste of fish sauce. It’s why I now mostly avoid Thai food as a whole, the fish sauce is nauseating and overpowering.

cycrutchfield 5y ago

It is still used in Italian cuisine - colatura di alici.

duxup 5y ago

I see it used in recipes in the west often. I'm making a pork recipe tomorrow that uses it.

spoonjim 5y ago

Southern US recipes add it to a lot of stuff.