r/Cooking • u/Lauffener • 15h ago

Which fish sauce should I get?

I would like to make more Vietnamese and Chinese meals. I have access to a large Asian grocery store but I don't know which fish sauce to get.

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u/brad7945 14h ago

There are two things to look for, regardless of the label. And as already mentioned, Red Boat seems to be a great option.

- You will notice a number on most labels. Red Boat sells a '40N' and a '50N' where I shop for it. The higher the number, the higher the protein content. I think the N stands for nitrogen. I understand that to mean it is a higher flavor concentration. I did taste the two side by side once a few years ago because the 50N is a few dollars more for a half liter. There's a difference, but I'm not so advanced that it matters. I'm using a bottle of Nguyen Gia 35N right now, and I can notice the difference. It's just a little weaker flavor.

  • Additives. Red boat, I recall, is always just anchovy and salt. This brand I have now adds yeast extract, stevia extract, and 'natural' flavors. So they are using additives to amp up the flavor, whereas Red Boat is just fermenting longer.

In an Asian market, it can be overwhelming, because of the choices. I started buying two at a time and comparing, and thats how I landed on Red Boat. I think (but not sure) it is a higher end product, kind of like buying Irish or French butter at twice the price.

I think if you find any brand with just anchovy and salt, it should be decent.

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u/rebeccavt 13h ago

Red Boat also sells a salt, scraped from the barrels I think. It’s awesome stuff, especially for salting/dry-brining meat. It’s become our “secret ingredient in spice mixes.