# Can't I just leave out the fish sauce? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 28, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871 "2006-12-28T16:35:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/1 "2006-12-28T16:35:28Z")
Making a chicken curry with sweet potatoes. It’s got tons of flavors, of course, to say nothing of the curry powder, itself. Calls also for onions, sugar, chili flakes, lemon, garlic, and eventually coconut milk, etc. I just don’t like the taste of fish, and I’d like to leave out the 2 tbs of fish sauce. How could that harm the overall flavor? Any cooking help out there? ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/2 "2006-12-28T16:37:41Z")
If you don’t like the taste of fish the flavour would probably be improved by leaving it out. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/3 "2006-12-28T17:00:05Z")
Fish sauce doesn’t take a bit like fish, and it has an unduplicatable taste that gourmets would sense missing. That said, you certainly have \*permission \*to leave it out, and if it’s the first time you’re making the dish, you might not miss it. Maybe a few shakes of soy or tamari would help provide the salty notes you’re leaving out, but they won’t provide the pungency. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/4 "2006-12-28T17:08:19Z")
As **WhyNot** says, the taste of fish sauce is not what you would guess from the name. It _smells_ really funky (as you’d expect, because it’s basically the juice of fish that have been left to ferment in the sun), but tastewise, it’s mostly a salty/earthy flavor. Thai food just wouldn’t be the same without it; basically every Thai dish you’ve ever heard of has fish sauce as part of the base. Skip it if you’re weirded out by the concept, but believe me, it really does add something indescribable and unreplicable by other means, and that’s not at all fishlike. At least to my palate, anyway. If you do decide to leave it out, replace it with half as much soy sauce, and taste frequently for saltiness; otherwise the dish will turn out extremely bland. (From the thread title, I assumed this was going to be "can I leave the fish sauce out _of the fridge."_ The answer to that is yes. It’s already fermented, i.e. it’s as “spoiled” as it’s going to get.) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/5 "2006-12-28T17:10:03Z")
Oh, and a healthy splash of fish sauce added to ground beef makes the most _heavenly_ hamburgers you’ve ever grilled. Quantity is ~ half a teaspoon per patty, or to taste. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/6 "2006-12-28T17:15:35Z")
Another one chiming in to say of course you can leave it out. But putting it in is both authentic, and adds a note of pungency you don’t get with substitutes: it doesn’t taste of fish in the least. If you’ve ever eaten Thai, Vietnamese, Malaysian, Cambodian, Burmese, or Laotian curries in a restaurant, they will likely have had fish sauce in them. If you liked them, then using fish sauce isn’t going to ruin your dish. Part of the problem, I suspect, is just knowing it’s in there because you’re doing the cooking. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/7 "2006-12-28T17:47:05Z")
It’s nearly impossible to find fish sauce that you can be sure doesn’t contain non-kosher fish (though I did find a vegetarian “fish sauce” recently that I can’t wait to try out), so I always substitute soy sauce for it in a recipe. I’ve seen that recommended by several vegetarian cookbooks. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/8 "2006-12-28T17:56:30Z")
nothing new to add but here is my rehash of what has been said. If it is just the eek factor keeping you from using it, try it. If you have some real impediment to using it (religious or medical dietary restrictions) just go ahead and skip it making sure you check the saltyness. A curry dish has enough taste (and curry powders vary so much from each other) that yours will just be one more variation. ---
**Author:** ![CC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f1d935/32.png) [@CC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CC)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/9 "2006-12-28T18:33:02Z")
Man, I love this bbs. tx ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/10 "2006-12-28T18:39:26Z")
IIRC, mainly what fish sauce adds is glutamate. If that’s the case, perhaps MSG would be a decent substitute? ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/11 "2006-12-28T22:06:42Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] It’s nearly impossible to find fish sauce that you can be sure doesn’t contain non-kosher fish (though I did find a vegetarian “fish sauce” recently that I can’t wait to try out), so I always substitute soy sauce for it in a recipe. I’ve seen that recommended by several vegetarian cookbooks. [/QUOTE] I think I remember seeing kosher fish and soy sauces under the _Soy Vey_ brand name. If you have ever had Worcestershire sauce, you’ve had that same concentrated anchovy flavor. I didn’t know that until recently. I’ve been using Worcestershire sauce for decades, and I never suspected the anchovy element to it. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/12 "2006-12-28T22:16:16Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] If you have ever had Worcestershire sauce, you’ve had that same concentrated anchovy flavor. I didn’t know that until recently. I’ve been using Worcestershire sauce for decades, and I never suspected the anchovy element to it. [/QUOTE] Could Worcestershire sauce be substituted for fish sauce? I’ve never tried that, but I’ve always wondered if it would work. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/13 "2006-12-28T23:14:03Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] Could Worcestershire sauce be substituted for fish sauce? I’ve never tried that, but I’ve always wondered if it would work. [/QUOTE] Worcestershire sauce **is** fish sauce. > **[Worcestershire sauce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worcestershire_sauce)** > > Worcestershire sauce or Worcester sauce (/ˈwʊstər(ʃər)/ ⓘ WUUS-tər(-shər)) is a fermented condiment invented by the pharmacists John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins in Worcester, Worcestershire, England, during the first half of the 19th century. They later formed the company Lea & Perrins. Worcestershire sauce has been a generic term since 1876, when the High Court of Justice ruled that Lea & Perrins did not own a trademark for the name "Worcestershire". Worcestershire sauce is used on s... ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/14 "2006-12-28T23:32:34Z")
Well, sort of. Worcestershire is _ **a** _ fish sauce, but it is not the same thing as what is generally meant by the “Fish Sauce” used in Asian cooking, aka “nuoc mam” or “nam plaa.” Worcestershire has a bunch of ingredients, including sweeteners and aromatics, whereas Fish Sauce is pretty much a fermentation of water, salt, and fish. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/15 "2006-12-28T23:34:04Z")
True, and I suppose it is easier to find kosher Worcestershire than Asian. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/16 "2006-12-28T23:41:03Z")
[QUOTE=Random] I suppose it is easier to find kosher Worcestershire than Asian. [/QUOTE] Considerably. It’s pretty trivial to find kosher-certified Worcestershire sauce, near impossible to find kosher-certified Asian fish sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/17 "2006-12-28T23:43:20Z")
[QUOTE=AskNott] I think I remember seeing kosher fish and soy sauces under the _Soy Vey_ brand name. [/QUOTE] [Soy Vay](http://www.soyvay.com/) doesn’t make fish sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2006, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/18 "2006-12-28T23:44:45Z")
[QUOTE=Random] True, and I suppose it is easier to find kosher Worcestershire than Asian. [/QUOTE] Anchovies do have scales. It shouldn’t be an issue. That said, Worcestershire sauce and Fish sauce do not taste similarly at all. Do not substitute either for the other (unless you are really into fusion cuisine) ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/19 "2006-12-29T00:05:32Z")
[QUOTE=Sapo] Anchovies do have scales. It shouldn’t be an issue. [/quote] That’s not the issue. The issue is, how do I _know_ that no non-kosher fish are being used in addition to or instead of anchovies? [Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_sauce) says that some fish sauces are made from whatever comes up in the net, including shellfish. > [@](#): > > That said, Worcestershire sauce and Fish sauce do not taste similarly at all. Do not substitute either for the other (unless you are really into fusion cuisine) That’s what I thought. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871/20 "2006-12-29T00:54:50Z")
[QUOTE=Anne Neville] It’s nearly impossible to find fish sauce that you can be sure doesn’t contain non-kosher fish [/QUOTE] LUCKY says it’s made from anchovies, but there’s no K on it. 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cant-i-just-leave-out-the-fish-sauce/385871.md?page=2)