List of fish sauces facts for kids

Fish sauce fermenting in large barrels in Phú Quốc

Fish sauce is a special liquid made from fish and sea salt. It gets its unique flavor from a process called fermentation, where tiny living things break down the fish over time. This makes it a tasty condiment (like a sauce or seasoning) used in many different types of cooking.

It's a very important ingredient in countries like Cambodia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, especially in Southeast Asia and parts of East Asia.

Types of Fish Sauces

A

• Anchovy essence – This is a thick, pink, oily sauce made from crushed anchovies, spices, and other ingredients. People use it to add flavor to soups, sauces, and other dishes.

B

Bagoong

• Bagoóng – This is a Philippine condiment made from fish or shrimp that have been partly or fully fermented with salt. During this process, a type of fish sauce called patís is also created.
• Bagoóng monamon – This is a common ingredient in Filipino cooking, especially in the northern Ilocano region. It's made by fermenting salted anchovies and is used for cooking.
• Bagoóng terong – Also popular in the Philippines, particularly in the northern Ilocano area. It's made by salting and fermenting the bonnet mouth fish.
• Budu sauce – A well-known fermented seafood product from Kelantan, Malaysia, and Southern Thailand. It's traditionally made by mixing anchovies and salt, then letting them ferment for 140 to 200 days. People use it as a flavoring, often eating it with fish, rice, and fresh vegetables.

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  Bagoong fermenting in burnay jars in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines

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  Budu sauce in Kelantan, Malaysia

C

• Cincalok – A food from Malacca, Malaysia, made from fermented small shrimp or krill. It's usually served as a condiment with chillis, shallots, and lime juice.
• Colatura di Alici – An Italian fish sauce made with anchovies. It comes from the small fishing village of Cetara in Campania, Italy.

D

• Dayok – A type of fish sauce from the Visayas and Mindanao islands in the Philippines. It's made from the fermented insides of yellowfin tuna.

G

The ruins of a garum factory in Baelo Claudia, Spain

• Garum – This was a fermented fish sauce used in the cooking of ancient Greece, Rome, and Byzantium. Garum was made from the intestines of small fish through a process of bacterial fermentation.

M

• Mahyawa – A tangy fish sauce made from salted anchovies and spices like fennel, cumin, coriander, and mustard seeds. It started in the southern coastal parts of Iran and became popular in Arab states of the Persian Gulf due to people moving there.
• Mắm nêm – This is a sauce made from fermented fish. Unlike the more common nước mắm (fish sauce), mắm nêm has a very strong smell, similar to shrimp paste.

N

• Nam pla – This is the name for fish sauce in Thailand.
• Nước mắm – This is the name for fish sauce in Vietnam.

P

• Padaek – A traditional Lao condiment made from pickled or fermented fish. It's often called Lao fish sauce and is thicker, with pieces of fish still in it. It's also widely used in Northeast Thailand (Isaan).
• Phu quoc fish sauce – A special kind of fish sauce made on Phu Quoc island in southwest Vietnam. Since 2001, the name "Phu Quoc Fish Sauce" has been a registered trademark in Vietnam. Only approved makers can use this name.
• Pla ra – Made by pickling different kinds of fish, mainly Snakehead Murrel. The fish is cleaned, cut, and then mixed with salt and rice bran.

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  Fish sauce at a market in Vientiane, Laos

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  Large containers of fish sauce for sale in Vietnam

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  Pla ra at a vendor's food cart in Bangkok, Thailand

S

• Shottsuru (Japanese: しょっつる) – A strong-smelling Japanese fish sauce, usually made from salefin sandfish. It's mainly produced in the Akita region of northern Japan.

W

• Worcestershire sauce – A fermented liquid condiment that includes anchovy. It's mostly used to flavor meat or fish dishes. It was created in Worcester, England, by John Wheeley Lea and William Henry Perrins. The Lea & Perrins brand started selling in 1837 and has been made in its current factory since 1897.

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  A 1900 advertisement for Lea & Perrins Worcestershire sauce

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  A label for the Australian Lionel Brand Worcestershire Sauce

See also