Premium 60ºN Fish Sauce from Vietnam

After tasting all the fish sauces we can find in Hong Kong, this 60ºN Fish Sauce is the best addictive-free fish sauce so far. Its rich and in-depth umami provides a new dimension to our common cantonese dishes, e.g. fried choi sum, fried rice or even pan-fried egg. Everyone can be a good chef with this fish sauce in your kitchen.

What is Fish Sauce?

According to Michelin Guide Food Expert:

"Making fish sauce isn’t exactly rocket science. It first has fish marinated in salt and fermented in a container. The meat of the fish releases its juice after the while, and that is what we know as fish sauce. The method has been adopted by Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese peoples. Even the ancient Roman Empire produced a version of fish sauce called garum.

In the past, fish sauce was sold by cart-pushing hawkers on the streets. This practice was still in place until the 60s and 70s in the Teochew-Shantou area of China. The locals would bring their own bottle or bowl as a container. From the famous oyster pancake to oyster congee to pan-fried tailfish, the fermented liquid has endless uses in the regional fare. Larger-scale fish sauce factories emerged in the following decades. The sauce can now be found easily in bottle form across South East Asia. “The principle of making fish sauce is the same among different countries. But the taste varies slightly due to differences in weather and technical details in production,” Chan said."

The purest form of fish sauce only contains two things: anchovies and salt. But most brands will also add water, and also sugar to help balance the saltiness. Some low quality fish sauce brands also add flavour enhancers and food colouring to make up for the lack of actual fish in it.

The fermentation process can last for anywhere between 3-12 months, depending on the type of fish used. The process results in a briny, pungent, umami-loaded fish extract accumulate in those fermentation tanks.

That liquid is known as fish sauce and it possesses the ability to take your stir-fries, salads, meat dishes, and pad thai to the next level.

Traditional fish sauce vs Industrial fish sauce

With the development of life, many products come from industrial processes, and the fish sauce is one of them. How can we know the difference between the traditional and industrial fish sauce? 

The traditional fish sauce uses two main materials including sea fishes (anchovies are the top choice) and sauce with the ratio 3:1, it means 3 kg of saltwater fish adding with 1 kg of salt. This procession can be a long time, from 3 months to one year. Then, the people extract the sauce from this combination.

The sauce has a dark-yellow color, and the smell is strong and a little fishy. But, when tasting it, the eaters will feel nicer than the industrial fish sauce, the feelings of seafood, a little fat, salty, but bold taste.

Industrial fish sauce is cheap with quite light yellow color. Many companies have good marketing so their sauces can be found at most of the supermarket. Its smell is not fishy, but the feeling when using it comes nearly salty taste.

Why choosing 60ºN Fish Sauce from Vietnam

According to Michelin Guide Food Expert:

"Among all the varieties, Vietnamese fish sauce is the most refined. Since Vietnamese food is more restrained in flavour and herb-based, it largely rests on the freshness of ingredients and the fish sauce to bring the umami level up a notch.

The fish sauces in Vietnam are often labelled clearly with their origin, degrees and the types of fish used in production. That makes it much easier for diners to choose the most suitable product for their cooking. The Vietnamese fish sauces can be divided into two categories. There is nước mắm, which is composed of 100% natural fish essence without any seasoning, while nước chấm is flavoured with wine vinegar or garlic. The former can be used for cooking or added to other ingredients to make a dipping sauce. On the other hand, the latter is a ready-made dipping sauce."

"Equally important is the degrees of the fish sauce. “The degrees (°N) on the label of Vietnamese fish sauce represent the protein content. The higher the value, the higher the protein content and the umami, and the higher the price,” Chan explains. The degrees of Vietnamese fish sauce varies from 20°N to 60°N. Bottles with lower degrees are more suited for cooking, since the heat breaks the protein content and thus the umami of the sauce. Using high degrees in this regard seems like a waste. Rather, it demonstrates the full potential of dipping sauces"

Ingredients: Anchovies, Salt

200ml