Cooking
Substitute for Fish Sauce
No fish sauce? Use 1 tbsp soy sauce plus ¼ tsp salt per tablespoon, mashed anchovies for real fish depth, or coconut aminos with salt if avoiding soy.
- vegetarian
- vegan
Quick answer
Out of fish sauce? The most versatile swaps:
- 1
Soy sauce + salt
1 tbsp soy sauce + ¼ tsp salt for 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 2
Anchovy fillets + soy sauce
2 mashed anchovy fillets + 1 tbsp soy sauce for 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 3
Coconut aminos + salt
1 tbsp coconut aminos + ½ tsp salt for 1 tbsp fish sauce
Fish sauce is mostly a salting agent. A tablespoon carries about 1,410 mg of sodium according to USDA FoodData Central, roughly 1.6 times the sodium in the same spoon of shoyu, along with savory depth from fermented anchovies and a pale amber color that leaves dishes clean-looking. A substitute has to match that salt first; otherwise the dish tastes flat no matter how much savory flavor it has.
Curries, stir-fries and braises
When fish sauce is cooked into a dish, soy sauce with salt works almost anywhere. A quarter teaspoon of table salt adds about 580 mg of sodium, which brings a tablespoon of soy sauce level with fish sauce. Its color is the main giveaway, so in a green curry or a pale coconut soup, dissolve the salt in a smaller amount of soy sauce instead.
If fish is welcome, mashed anchovies get closest to the real flavor. Melt the fillets into the hot oil with the garlic and shallots at the start, then add the soy sauce later with the other liquids.
Dipping sauces and dressings
Nuoc cham, Thai salad dressings and som tam use fish sauce raw, where its sharp aroma is part of the taste. A bottled vegan fish sauce handles this best. Soy sauce with salt also works if the salt is fully dissolved in the lime juice before tasting; grains left undissolved make the first bite harsh. For a faint sea note in a vegan version, steep a torn sheet of nori in the mixture for ten minutes and strain.
When not to substitute
In a fermented fish dip such as Vietnamese mam nem, or in a recipe that uses fish sauce by the quarter cup as a marinade base, no swap reproduces the dish. Buy fish sauce or choose another recipe.
For allergies, follow the label rather than the name. Fish sauce contains fish; soy sauce contains soy and usually wheat. Coconut aminos with salt avoids fish, shellfish, soy and wheat at once.
Common mistakes
- Replacing it with plain soy sauce spoon for spoon. The dish lands noticeably under-salted, and cooks often add more soy sauce until it turns muddy and brown.
- Leaving the salt out of coconut aminos. On its own it reads as sweet rather than savory.
- Adding anchovies at the end. Unless they hit hot fat early, they stay in grainy flecks.
- Pouring in vegan fish sauce at full strength. Some brands are saltier than the original; start with half.
All 4 substitutes at a glance
| Substitute | Ratio | Best for | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Soy sauce + salt CookingRaw & finishing | 1 tbsp soy sauce + ¼ tsp salt for 1 tbsp fish sauce | curries, stir-fries, marinades, vegetarian cooking | Soy sauce alone has roughly 60 percent of fish sauce's sodium per tablespoon; the salt closes the gap. It is darker and maltier, so pale dishes turn tan. Use light (thin) soy sauce rather than dark. |
| Anchovy fillets + soy sauce Cooking | 2 mashed anchovy fillets + 1 tbsp soy sauce for 1 tbsp fish sauce | curry pastes, braises, fried rice, Caesar-style dressings | Fish sauce is fermented anchovy and salt, so the fillets bring back the fishy depth that soy sauce lacks. They need heat or vigorous mashing to dissolve. Slightly less salty than fish sauce; taste at the end. |
| Coconut aminos + salt CookingRaw & finishing | 1 tbsp coconut aminos + ½ tsp salt for 1 tbsp fish sauce | soy-free diets, fish-free diets, dressings, glazes | Coconut aminos are mildly salty and noticeably sweet, so the added salt supplies most of the seasoning. Cut a little sugar from the recipe to offset the sweetness. Contains no soy or fish. |
| Vegan fish sauce (bottled) CookingRaw & finishing | 1:1 | nuoc cham, som tam, vegan Thai and Vietnamese dishes | Usually built from soy sauce or salt water with seaweed and mushroom extract. Salt levels vary between brands, so add half, taste, then the rest. |
Substitute calculator
How much fish sauce does your recipe call for?
- Soy sauce + salt1 tbsp soy sauce + ¼ tsp salt
- Anchovy fillets + soy sauce2 anchovy fillets + 1 tbsp soy sauce
- Coconut aminos + salt1 tbsp coconut aminos + ½ tsp salt
- Vegan fish sauce (bottled)1 tbsp vegan fish sauce
Amounts are rounded to practical kitchen measures. Swaps without a fixed ratio, or that can't be measured in the unit you picked, show their ratio instead.
Topics: fish sauceasianumamithaivietnamese All cooking guides
Frequently asked questions
How salty is fish sauce compared with soy sauce?
Much saltier. USDA data put fish sauce at about 1,410 mg sodium per tablespoon against about 880 mg for regular soy sauce. That difference is why a straight swap tastes under-seasoned and why the soy-based swap here adds salt.
What can I use instead of fish sauce in pad thai?
Soy sauce plus salt keeps the seasoning right, and a mashed anchovy fillet dissolved in the hot oil brings back the fish note if fish is acceptable. Keep the tamarind and sugar as written; they balance the sauce, not the fish sauce.
Is fish sauce safe with a shellfish allergy?
US labeling treats fish and crustacean shellfish as separate major allergens, so a fish sauce label must declare each one it contains. Check the Contains line on every bottle, since blends differ. For a fish allergy, use soy sauce with salt or coconut aminos with salt.
Does fish sauce taste fishy in the finished dish?
Very little when it is cooked or balanced with lime, sugar and chili. The strong smell from the bottle fades in a curry or stir-fry, leaving a savory, rounded saltiness. Used raw and unbalanced, it stays pungent.
Sources
- Sauce, fish, ready-to-serve (FDC ID 174531), USDA FoodData Central
- Soy sauce made from soy and wheat (shoyu) (FDC ID 174277), USDA FoodData Central
- Salt, table (FDC ID 173468), USDA FoodData Central
- Food allergies, U.S. Food and Drug Administration
More cooking substitutes
Substitute for Anchovy Paste
Mash about 1½ anchovy fillets for each teaspoon of anchovy paste, or use ½ tsp fish sauce. For vegan Caesar, white miso with mashed capers fills the gap.
Read
Substitute for Lemongrass
No fresh lemongrass? Frozen stalks swap 1:1, tube paste at ¾ the volume of chopped, and lemon zest plus a lime leaf fills in for a stalk in soups and curries.
ReadSubstitute for Nori
No nori? Roll sushi in soy paper or a thin egg crepe, sheet for sheet, and swap crumbled nori for the same amount of aonori flakes or furikake on rice and noodles.
ReadSubstitute for Oyster Sauce
Swap oyster sauce 1:1 with vegetarian mushroom stir-fry sauce, or mix 1½ tsp soy sauce, ½ tsp sugar and 1½ tsp water per tablespoon so it isn't too salty.
Read