Don’t have fish sauce or want to keep your recipe vegan or vegetarian? Here are the best fish sauce substitutes to use in recipes.
Are you preparing a recipe that calls for fish sauce and you don’t have any? Or would you like to find a vegetarian or vegan alternative to fish sauce? Fish sauce is a condiment made from fermented fish that is commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisines such as Thai cuisine. Fish sauce is used to bring umami (delicious taste) to recipes. It has an unconventional, tangy, salty flavor that’s hard to replace. Don’t have time to shop it? Here are some replacement ideas.
Best substitute for fish sauce
1. Soy Sauce + Rice Vinegar (& Miso)
The Best Substitute for Fish Sauce? A combination of soy sauce and rice vinegar. This helps mimic the hearty, spicy umami flavor of fish sauce. Use equal parts soy sauce and rice vinegar. If you have miso on hand, you can mix some in to mimic that funky flavor.
- For 1 teaspoon of fish sauce, Use ½ tsp soy sauce and ½ tsp rice vinegar.
- If you have some on hand, mix one in ½ teaspoon miso paste until it dissolves.
2. Vegan Fish Sauce
The second best substitute for fish sauce? Vegan Fish Sauce! If you’re replacing fish sauce with a vegan or vegetarian diet, you can easily make your own. Here’s a vegan fish sauce recipe using dried mushrooms, seaweed, and soy sauce to mimic the umami of fish sauce.
3. Omit it entirely
Fish sauce is often a supporting ingredient that adds funky intrigue to the flavor of a dish. It’s generally used in small amounts, so you can often omit it. We use it in our Coconut Shrimp Curry and Best Fried Rice to add umami in the background but mark it as optional. It’s an ingredient that really enhances the flavor, but isn’t necessary if you don’t have it or your diet doesn’t allow for it.
Related Recipes
Here are some recipes where you could use this fish sauce substitute:
