Here is a simple homemade recipe for Vegan Fish Sauce! – a savory substitute for Asian fish sauce that adds depth and umami flavor to Asian dishes without the fish or shellfish! Gluten-free adaptable!
Fish sauce is a staple in many Asian recipes and many of you have asked for a good plant-based substitute for fish sauce. Here’s a simple Vegan Fish Sauce Recipe – that you can easily make at home. It is totally plant-based and very easy! Make a batch and refrigerate – it will keep for months in your fridge – a meat-free, non-fishy substitute for fish sauce that has depth of flavor, and works well in most recipes that call for fish sauce!
After sampling sips of straight fish sauce (this tells you how much I love you!) this is the recipe that I came up with.
Enjoy our delicious Pad Thai with homemade vegan fish sauce!
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Sauce!
- Plant-based alternative: Vegan fish sauce is a great substitute for traditional fish sauce, making it suitable for those following a vegan diet or vegetarian lifestyle.
- Depth of flavor: Despite not containing fish or shellfish, vegan fish sauce still manages to pack a punch when it comes to flavor. It has a deep umami taste that adds richness and complexity to your dishes, similar to traditional fish sauce.
- Gluten-free adaptable: For individuals with gluten sensitivities or dietary restrictions, vegan fish sauce can be easily adapted to be gluten-free.
- Versatility: Vegan fish sauce works well as a substitute in most recipes that call for fish sauce. Whether you’re making Thai curries, stir-fries, or dipping sauces, this plant-based alternative will provide the same depth of flavor and umami kick.
- Long shelf life: Once you’ve made your batch of vegan fish sauce, you can store it in a sealed glass bottle or jar in the refrigerator for several months. The flavors will continue to develop over time, making the sauce even more flavorful.
Ingredient Notes for Vegetarian Fish Sauce
- Soy sauce: You can use shoyu, tamari, coconut aminos, or Bragg’s liquid amino acids as a base for your vegan fish sauce. Choose the one that suits your taste preference and dietary needs.
- Dried mushrooms: Shiitake mushrooms are the recommended choice for this recipe, as they add a rich and savory flavor. Feel free to play around with other dried mushroom varieties!
- Seaweed: Dried kombu, nori, or wakame seaweed can be added to your vegan fish sauce to provide a subtle hint of the sea and enhance the “fishiness” without using actual fish or shellfish.
- Garlic cloves: Fresh garlic cloves or garlic powder can be used to add a savory and aromatic element to your vegan fish sauce.
- Optional additions: For additional flavor complexity, you can consider adding ingredients like sliced shallots, grilled (charred) onions, roasted garlic, black garlic, a small splash of rice wine, sherry, or rice vinegar. If you can find smoked shoyu, it can be a great option to enhance the smoky flavor of the sauce.
Feel free to experiment and adjust the quantities of these ingredients according to your taste preferences. Remember, the goal is to create a flavorful, umami-rich sauce to use as a substitute for fish sauce in your Asian-inspired dishes.
See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
How to make Vegan Fish Sauce
Here is the simple recipe for Vegan Fish Sauce and of course feel free to embellish, leaving notes for other readers in the comments.
You’ll need dried mushrooms, and I prefer dried shiitake mushrooms – but know they may be hard to track down for some. I also tried this with cremini mushrooms as you see here, and they were pretty good- but the dried mushrooms added much better flavor.
Smoked Shoyu adds even more complexity if you can track it down. Miso paste, grilled or roasted onions, black garlic, or roasted garlic add even more depth. You can get pretty crafty when you start thinking about creating depth and umami, so please, feel free to experiment and play around.
In a nutshell, you’ll make a very condensed broth of dried mushrooms, kombu seaweed, soy sauce (or use GF Bragss or Shoyu) and garlic, simmering this down until the flavors intensify.
Let this steep, preferably 24 hours (or longer) then strain out the solids.
Vegan Fish Sauce Faqs
It’s basically a very condensed broth infused with soy sauce -shoyu, tamari, or gluten-free Bragg’s Liquid Aminos, dried mushrooms, seaweed, and a few garlic cloves. The broth is simmered and reduced, and flavors become very concentrated. What remains is a very intense salty briny liquid with a deep umami flavor, that to me, comes pretty close to fish sauce. The seaweed really hints of the sea and gives it the “fishiness” it needs without the fish!
Dried shiitake mushrooms are the best for this recipe. You can also try using other types of dried mushrooms like cremini. However, keep in mind that different mushrooms will add different flavors to the sauce, so the taste may vary slightly.
You can store the vegan fish sauce in a sealed glass bottle or jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator for several months. In fact, the flavors will continue to develop and the sauce will become even more flavorful over time. Some people have successfully kept their vegan fish sauce for over a year!
Absolutely! You can use gluten-free soy sauce, tamari, or even Bragg’s Liquid Aminos as a substitute for regular soy sauce. This will make the recipe gluten-free and suitable for individuals with dietary restrictions.
More Recipes You May Enjoy
Store in a sealed container and store 3-6 months in the fridge!
Remember, feel free to experiment and add your own twist to the recipe. Enjoy your homemade vegan fish sauce!
This vegan fish sauce substitute will keep for months in the fridge and actually gets more flavorful with time. I’ve had mine for over a year!
Love this recipe? Please let us know in the comments and leave a 5-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating below the recipe card.
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Vegan Fish sauce
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups
- Category: sauces, condiments,
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
How to make Vegan Fish Sauce! – a plant-based substitute for fish sauce that adds depth and umami flavor to Asian dishes. Gluten-free adaptable.
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce– shoyu, tamari, or Braggs liquid amino acids
- 1/2 cup dried mushrooms (like dried shiitakes)
- 1 4 x 8 inch sheet of dried kombu (seaweed) or wakame seaweed
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced
- 2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
- optional additions- 1 fat shallot sliced, grilled (charred) onion, roasted garlic, black garlic, small splash rice wine, sherry, or rice vinegar. Smoked Shoyu if you can find it, is a great option for the soy sauce.
Instructions
- Bring all to a low boil and turn down to a simmer in a medium saucepan, uncovered, over medium heat. Simmer on low until reduced by half. You should have about 2 cups of liquid.
- If you have time, let this steep overnight, or up to 24 hours, covered on the counter. Then strain into a bowl and pour into a clean glass bottle or jar.
- ***If the liquid is less than 2 cups, add water to make it 2 cups. This will ensure the right amount of saltiness.
- Store in the fridge and use as you would fish sauce, one to one.
Notes
- The Vegan Fish Sauce will keep up to 3-6 months in the fridge. Probably longer. 🙂
- Smoked Shoyu adds even more complexity if you can track it down. Grilled or roasted onions, black garlic, or roasted garlic add even more depth. You can get pretty crafty when you start thinking about creating depth and umami, so please, feel free to experiment and play around.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 teaspoon
- Calories: 1
- Sugar: 0.1 g
- Sodium: 206.2 mg
- Fat: 0 g
- Saturated Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 0.2 g
- Fiber: 0 g
- Protein: 0.1 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Oh wow, I stumbled in from a Pinterest search and found my happy place, lol! I cannot wait to try this recipe. Also, SMOKED SHOYU??? YES, PLEEEEAASE!
Great Jeanette, happy you are here. 🙂
I’m excited to try this! If you’re using garlic powder in place of garlic cloves, how much would you recommend?
I would start with 1/2 teaspoon and add more to taste.
Yay, thank you!
Wow! WOW! Made this and it’s amazing! Steeping overnight is essential imo as it tasted very different after the steep vs. after it cooled from taking it off the stove. WOW! Used kombu, made a pad Thai sauce. WOW! As a vegetarian, don’t know what a “real” fish sauce tastes like, but…yeah, you guessed it – WOW! Thank you!!!
Yay Rose! Glad you gave it a try.:)
I loved this recipe! I used it in the pad thai recipe since my husband can’t do fish sauce. This did the trick and the pad thai turned out great!
Great to hear Lynn!
Can you re-use the kombu afterwards, for multiple boils?
It seems like such a waste to throw it…
Yes, Linda, if you dry it out completely, you can reuse it for several boils. 🙂
Can’t wait to try this. My husband can’t eat onions or garlic so I need something to add umami. This just might be the ticket.
Did you use whole or sliced mushrooms to measure 1/2 cup? I can get whole dried shiitakes or sliced, but there would be a volume difference. Would you happen to know how the weight in ounces? That would help.
I used sliced! It doesn’t have to be exact. 🙂