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Condiments & seasonings

Fish sauce

Also called yúlù

Fish sauce is a fermented condiment made from fish and salt, sometimes with caramel or molasses. Cooks use it to season food and pair it with lime juice and chili peppers.

  • Fish
  • Allergen: fish

About the plain ingredient, not packaged products; general information, not medical advice. Details

Cooked most in
Asia
Top country
Cambodia
Fish sauce, whole

Photo: Assassas77 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

In the kitchen

How to use fish sauce

Typical ways to cook or use it

  • Ferment
  • Season

Made from

Cooking with it

Add fish sauce while cooking or use it to season the finished dish.

Goes well with

If you don’t have fish sauce

  • soy sauce · Works in a pinch

    Some consider it a vegetarian alternative, though its flavor differs greatly.

Shopping

Choosing and storing fish sauce

Choosing a good one

For Vietnamese fish sauce, look for a clear, deep golden-amber sauce without a strong smell. A first-press designation is an indicator of quality.

Around the world

Where fish sauce is cooked

2 dishes in the catalogue use fish sauce. Here is where they come from.

Dishes by continent

Countries whose dishes use it most

Counts are catalogued dishes from each country that list fish sauce among their ingredients.

Origins

  1. 16XX/17XX · China, Vietnam and Cambodia

    Chinese traders brought fish sauce back to China from Vietnam and Cambodia.

  2. 16XX/17XX · China, Vietnam and Cambodia

    Chinese traders brought fish sauce back to southern China from Vietnam and Cambodia.

On the table

Dishes made with fish sauce

2 dishes in the catalogue use it.

  • Bok l'hong

    Cambodia

  • Bun cha

    Vietnam

Dish lists come from Wikidata; a dish counts when its recorded ingredients include fish sauce.

Good to know

Diet and allergens: fish sauce in detail

These notes describe the plain ingredient. Packaged and prepared products vary, so read the label; for allergies and medical diets ask a doctor or dietitian.
Allergens
Contains: fish
Animal origin
From: fish

Around the world

What fish sauce is called

Names in 57 languages, from Wikidata.

  • Spanish

    salsa de pescado

  • French

    sauce de poisson

  • Italian

    salsa di pesce

  • Portuguese

    molho de peixe

  • German

    Fischsauce · Fischsoße

  • Dutch

    vissaus

  • Greek

    σάλτσα ψαριού

  • Turkish

    balık sosu

  • Russian

    рыбный соус

  • Polish

    sos rybny

  • Arabic

    صلصة السمك

  • Persian

    سس ماهی

Show all 57 languages

  • Armenian

    ձկան սոուս

  • Asturian

    mueyu de pexe · salsa de pexe

  • Bangla

    ফিশ সস্‌

  • Basque

    arrain saltsa

  • Belarusian

    Рыбная падліва

  • Belarusian (Taraskievica orthography)

    рыбная падліва

  • Betawi

    kécap ikan

  • Bikol

    patis

  • Burmese

    ငံပြာရည်

  • Cantonese

    魚露

  • Catalan

    salsa de peix

  • cdo

    hà-iù

  • Cebuano

    Sarsa sa isda

  • Chinese

    魚露 · 膎 · 魚醬 · 魚之鮮

  • Czech

    rybí omáčka

  • Danish

    fiskesauce

  • Esperanto

    fiŝosaŭco

  • Estonian

    kalakastmega

  • Filipino

    patis

  • Finnish

    kalakastike

  • Galician

    mollo de peixe

  • Hebrew

    ציר דגים

  • Hindi

    मीन सॉस

  • Indonesian

    kecap ikan

  • Japanese

    魚醤 · 魚醤油

  • Javanese

    kécap iwak

  • Khmer

    ទឹកត្រី

  • Korean

    어장 · 어간장 · 액젓 · 어로

  • Lao

    ນໍ້າປາ

  • Latin

    liquamen

  • Latvian

    zivju mērce

  • Lingua Franca Nova

    salsa de pex

  • Lithuanian

    žuvies padažai

  • Malay

    sos ikan

  • Malayalam

    മീൻ സോസ്

  • Norwegian Bokmål

    fiskesaus

  • Punjabi

    ਮੱਛੀ ਦਾ ਸੌਸ

  • Serbian

    riblji sos

  • Slovenian

    ribja omaka

  • Swedish

    fisksås

  • Tamil

    மீன் சுவைச்சாறு

  • Thai

    น้ำปลา

  • Ukrainian

    рибний соус

  • Vietnamese

    nước mắm · nước mắm cá

  • Waray

    patis

  • Wu Chinese

    鱼露

Photos

More photos of fish sauce

Sources and credits

Data

  • GlobeCooks editorial: descriptions, kitchen notes and classification, written by GlobeCooks from checked sources
  • Wikidata: names, classification and dishes (CC0 1.0)
  • Wikimedia Commons: photos
  • Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Wikidata item: Q545985

Photos

Photo: Assassas77 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Mx. Granger · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Valereee · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Photo: kentnk2009 · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Photo: Saphabodi · CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons