Step 1: Making the Fish-Less Fish Sauce
- 1/3 cup tamari or soy sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetarian flavored oyster sauce (a.k.a. mushroom-oyster sauce)*
- 2 tsp rice wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup fermented black beans, made into a paste
- 2 tbsp Shinshu miso (yellow miso)
Blend everything together and store in a sealable jar. This sauce will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator.
Note: The vegetarian oyster sauce can be omitted, if desired — which of course will lead to a thinner sauce.
Substitute 1:1 for regular fish sauce, or to taste. Just note that this sauce is darker than a “typical” fish sauce, which will affect the color of whatever you are making.
Chef's Notes
For a thinner and slightly more fishy-fishless fish sauce, this recipe for Fish-Less Fish Sauce is also really good. Besides the ingredients used, the other difference is that this fish-less sauce is not cooked and it also keeps a bit longer.