Fish Sauce (Vegan)
A hearty vegan built around dried seaweed, water and garlic β roughly 60 minutes start to finish, and rated medium to make. Below: the ingredients split into pantry staples and a quick shopping list, a built-in serving scaler, and the method in 7 steps.
You'll mainly reach for saucepan and pan. At medium difficulty across 7 steps, it's manageable with a little attention. As written, the ingredients are plant-based.
What you'll need
Shopping list (1)
Pantry staples (you likely have these)
π Unit converter
How to make it
- Rinse the dried seaweed briefly under cold water to remove surface grit, then place it in a saucepan with the 400 ml of water.
- Lightly crush the garlic cloves and add them to the pan along with the black peppercorns.
- Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes until the liquid has taken on a deep savoury aroma and the seaweed is very soft.
- Stir in both the dark and light soy sauce and continue to simmer for a further 5 minutes to concentrate the flavour.
- Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly, then strain it through a fine sieve, pressing the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
- Taste the sauce and loosen it with a little boiling water if it is too salty or intense, adjusting until it has the thin, briny consistency of fish sauce.
- Pour the cooled sauce into a sterilised bottle or jar and store it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks, shaking before each use.
You'll use: Saucepan Β· Pan
Ingredient substitutions
- Soy Sauce
- tamari (gluten-free) Β· coconut aminos
Tips & common questions
How long does Fish Sauce (Vegan) take to make?
About 60 minutes from start to finish β an estimate based on the 7 steps and 7 ingredients. Times vary with your kitchen and how much prep you do ahead.
What can I use instead of soy sauce?
Try tamari (gluten-free). See the substitutions section above for more swaps.
Can I scale this recipe up or down?
Yes β use the servings control above the ingredients and every quantity rescales automatically (fractions included). Cooking times stay roughly the same; very large batches may need a little longer.
Is Fish Sauce (Vegan) vegan?
Based on its ingredients, this recipe contains no meat, fish, dairy or egg, so it looks vegan-friendly. Always double-check labels on packaged items.
Related recipes
Fish Sauce (Vegan) is an original recipe developed in-house by Consomee. Photo: Vegan fish and chips from Sutton and Sons.jpg (CC0) via Wikimedia Commons. We add the serving scaler, ingredient tools, timing and structure on top β how we source recipes.