Tag: fish sauce

• 

  Vegan Fish Sauce

  Look I get it, no one likes to be labelled but sometimes labels help educate. I am a certified Omnivore and have no intention of following the vegan code to its fullest.

  I am however very supportive of the Vegan ethos. To this end I like reviewing Vegan alternatives to meat based ingredients.

  Recently, I ordered some Vegan Fish Sauce and here is the saucy truth. 🙂

  I would say that fish sauce is not just nice to have, it is required to build up the flavour of many Southeast Asian dishes. So I am very happy to report that (at least the brand I tried) does a very good job and it would be hard to pick in a blind tasting as the look and smell are on par.

  However the vegan version is unashamedly saltier and is ever so slightly missing a metallic taste that only meat can give. The Anchovies based version also has a several more levels of subtle tastes in its journey over the taste buds.

  Yet in conclusion, Whilst I  think this is a required ingredient in the Vegan’s cupboard, I recommend you use less of it than the fish based version when converting recipes. It is much saltier.

  

  Dietary Info: Great for vegetarians,  vegans and is gluten free.

  Enjoy,

  PK

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  YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE

  MORE RECIPES USING FISH SAUCE

  MORE SOUTHEAST ASIAN CUISINE

  MORE VEGAN, VEGETARIAN AND GLUTEN FREE INGREDIENTS

  THE FULL GICICI INGREDIENTS LIST

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  Written by

  PK

  ·

  April 10, 2018

• 

  PK’s NoRecipe Southeast Asian Dipping Sauce

  This is my go to sauce if I need to quickly whip up a Southeast Asian style dipping sauce or salad dressing. I use it for rice paper rolls, spring rolls, beef salads, chicken salads and so much more.

  Adjust the balance of fish sauce to sugar as you see fit or to suit how you are using it. Put a squirt of Sriracha or sweet chili sauce in there for a bit of a zing :).

  Steps:

  Simply mix:

  • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 tsp raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup lime (or lemon juice depending on purpose)
  • sriracha sauce, to taste and optional

  Give everything a good whisk to dissolve the sugar and you are done :).

  

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • see more dips and sauces here
  • see more NoRecipe goodness here

   

   

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  August 27, 2017

• 

  PK’s Southeast Asian Dipping Sauce

  This is my go to sauce if I need to quickly whip up a Southeast Asian style dipping sauce or salad dressing. I use it for rice paper rolls, spring rolls, beef salads, chicken salads and so much more.

  Adjust the balance of fish sauce to sugar as you see fit or to suit how you are using it. Put a squirt of Sriracha or sweet chili sauce in there for a bit of a zing :).

  Steps:

  Simply mix:

  • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 Tbsp peanut oil
  • 1 tsp raw sugar
  • 1/4 cup lime (or lemon juice depending on purpose)
  • sriracha sauce, to taste and optional

  Give everything a good whisk to dissolve the sugar and you are done :).

  

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Related Links:

  • see more dips and sauces here
  • see more NoRecipe goodness here

   

   

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  August 27, 2017

• 

  PK Cooks Sticky Poached Asian Chicken Thighs

  I saw this recipe online here http://www.taste.com.au/ and just had to try it. I also proved along the way that you don’t have to follow recipes exactly to get a great result. I did some steps out of order accidentally and had to rapidly reduce the sauce before everything went south.

  Everything worked out well though and I hardly had enough left over for lunch the next day :).

  The chicken was so tender and the sticky sauce had an amazing balance of citrus, salt and sugar. I will definitely be making this again but I intend to follow the instructions to the letter.

  

  You will be:

  1. Preparing your ingredients.
  2. Poaching the chicken
  3. Grilling the chicken and reducing the sauce
  4. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1kg boneless chicken thighs
    • 1 cup chicken stock (see PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock)
    • a few slugs of olive oil
    • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
    • 1/4 cup raw sugar
    • 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
    • 2cm fresh ginger root, grated (or 1 tsp store bought minced ginger)
    • 1 stalk lemongrass, grated
    • the rind from 1 lime, finely grated
    • 2 Tbsp (or more) lime juice
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a grater
    • a citrus juicer
    • a mixing jug
    • a whisk or fork
    • an oven dish
    • a large strainer
    • a medium saucepan

  Prepare your ingredients

  1. Lay the 1kg  boneless chicken thighs out in an oven proof dish.
  2. Peel and dice the 3 garlic cloves, add to the mixing jug along with the 1 cup chicken stock.
  3. Finely grate the 2cm of ginger and add to the jug.
  4. Finely grate the 1 lemongrass stem (use the tender parts only and not the thick outer leaves) and add to the jug.
  5. Grate the rind from a single lime and squeeze 2 Tbsp of lime juice (I used my frozen lime cubes from last season). Add both to the jug.
  6. Add the 1 Tbsp fish sauce to the jug.
  7. Add the 1/4 cup of raw sugar to the mixing jug and give everything a good mix (make sure the sugar has dissolved fully).

  

  

  

  Poaching the chicken

  1. Pour the liquid mixture over the chicken and cook for an hour in a fan-foced oven pre-heated to 180C.
  2. Turn the chicken half way.

  

  

  Grilling the chicken and reducing the sauce

  1. Strain the sauce into a saucepan and start reducing it.
  2. Return the chicken to the oven tray and turn on the grill to brown the chicken.
  3. When the sauce is very reduced, pour it back onto the chicken a grill for a little bit longer.

  

  

  Serving

  Serve with your favourite rice, some fresh spinach (the heat of the meal will blanch them) or some asian vegetables and a few sprigs of coriander.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 2, 2017

• 

  PK Cooks Taste.com.au’s Sticky Poached Asian Chicken Thighs

  I saw this recipe online here http://www.taste.com.au/ and just had to try it. I also proved along the way that you don’t have to follow recipes exactly to get a great result. I did some steps out of order accidentally and had to rapidly reduce the sauce before everything went south.

  Everything worked out well though and I hardly had enough left over for lunch the next day :).

  The chicken was so tender and the sticky sauce had an amazing balance of citrus, salt and sugar. I will definitely be making this again but I intend to follow the instructions to the letter.

  

  You will be:

  1. Preparing your ingredients.
  2. Poaching the chicken
  3. Grilling the chicken and reducing the sauce
  4. Serving.

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1kg boneless chicken thighs
    • 1 cup chicken stock (see PK’s Slow Cooker Chicken Stock)
    • a few slugs of olive oil
    • 1 Tbsp fish sauce
    • 1/4 cup raw sugar
    • 3 garlic cloves, finely diced
    • 2cm fresh ginger root, grated (or 1 tsp store bought minced ginger)
    • 1 stalk lemongrass, grated
    • the rind from 1 lime, finely grated
    • 2 Tbsp (or more) lime juice
  •  Equipment:
    • a long sharp knife
    • a chopping board
    • a grater
    • a citrus juicer
    • a mixing jug
    • a whisk or fork
    • an oven dish
    • a large strainer
    • a medium saucepan

  Prepare your ingredients

  1. Lay the 1kg  boneless chicken thighs out in an oven proof dish.
  2. Peel and dice the 3 garlic cloves, add to the mixing jug along with the 1 cup chicken stock.
  3. Finely grate the 2cm of ginger and add to the jug.
  4. Finely grate the 1 lemongrass stem (use the tender parts only and not the thick outer leaves) and add to the jug.
  5. Grate the rind from a single lime and squeeze 2 Tbsp of lime juice (I used my frozen lime cubes from last season). Add both to the jug.
  6. Add the 1 Tbsp fish sauce to the jug.
  7. Add the 1/4 cup of raw sugar to the mixing jug and give everything a good mix (make sure the sugar has dissolved fully).

  

  

  

  Poaching the chicken

  1. Pour the liquid mixture over the chicken and cook for an hour in a fan-foced oven pre-heated to 180C.
  2. Turn the chicken half way.

  

  

  Grilling the chicken and reducing the sauce

  1. Strain the sauce into a saucepan and start reducing it.
  2. Return the chicken to the oven tray and turn on the grill to brown the chicken.
  3. When the sauce is very reduced, pour it back onto the chicken a grill for a little bit longer.

  

  

  Serving

  Serve with your favourite rice, some fresh spinach (the heat of the meal will blanch them) or some asian vegetables and a few sprigs of coriander.

  

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 2, 2017

• 

  Fish Sauce

  South-east Asian fish sauces are generally made from fermented anchovies, lots of salt and water. They have a dark amber colour and exhibit a mild fish smell and a sharp almost metallic taste of fish and salt.

  This sauce is so versatile and can be used to enhance the flavours of many dishes due to its saltiness and also to adjust the balance of sour and sweet flavours. I find the sauce amazing and always sample some when cooking with it :).

  Just like anything, fish sauces run the gamut from low to high quality so it pays to do a bit of research and of course you get what you pay for.

  Here is the brand I use from Thailand (squid brand):

  

  The use of fermented fish sauces in European cooking goes back to ancient greece and the Roman Empire, presumably when some bright spark tried some sludgy fish that had been sitting in the sun for a few days. I don’t recommend trying that :).

  Related Links:

  • see recipes using this sauce here
  • see all sauces and condiments posts here
  • see all ingredients here

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  July 1, 2017

• 

  Easy Thai Beef Salad

  I love southeast asian salads. They are a feast for your eyes and your taste buds. The range of flavours is so diverse, you will never get bored of them.

  The key to a good beef salad is a great dressing and a good cut of beef that is thinly sliced and not over cooked. I hope you enjoy making the nam jim dressing and building the salad at the table like my family does. 🙂

  Notes: I have shown my timing preferences below for serving the salad with warm beef slices. Of course, if you prefer cold meat in this dish, you can make them in any order and well ahead of time. Oh and don’t forget to bring your steaks out of the fridge a little earlier so they are approaching room temperature as they go in the fry-pan.

  STEPS:

  1. Make the Nam jim dressing
  2. Roast the rice
  3. Gather the salad ingredients
  4. Cook the beef steaks
  5. Serving Suggestions

  You will need:

  • Nam jim Ingredients (repeated here for your shopping list):
    • 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chilli
    • 5 coriander roots (cilantro)
    • 3 garlic cloves
    • 2.5cm piece fresh ginger root
    • 3 Tbsp fish sauce
    • 3 Tbsp lime juice
    • 1 Tbsp palm sugar
  • Roasted Rice Ingredients
    • 100g of basmati or jasmine rice
    • 1 Tbsp of rock sea salt
  • Salad Ingredients
    • several large cabbage leaves (1 per person)
    • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
    • 1 handful of coriander leaves and stems
    • 1/2 large red capsicum
    • 1/3 of a burpless cucumber
    • 1 red shallot
    • 1 spring onion
    • 6 cherry tomatoes
    • 1 cup bean sprouts
    • 1 handful of mint leaves
    • 1 medium carrot
    • 1 handful of snow peas
    • your favourite fresh chilis (optional)
    • unsalted peanuts to taste (optional)
  • Steak Ingredients
    • small eye fillet steaks (1 per person)
    • ground black pepper to taste
    • table salt to taste
    • kecap manis or soy sauce (optional)
  • Equipment
    • an oven tray
    • a mortar and pestle
    • a chopping board
    • a small serving bowl for the roasted rice
    • a large salad bowl
    • a large frypan

   Make the Nam jim dressing

  

  Steps:

  1. Make the Nam Jim dressing as per PK’s Favourite Nam Jim Dressing.

  Roast the rice

  Steps:

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 200° C.
  2. Spread the rice grains across an oven tray and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  3. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
  4. Grind 1 Tbsp of rock sea salt in a mortar and pestle.
  5. Add the cooled roasted rice grains to the mortar and pestle and grind to your desired consistency.
  6. Add the finished product into a small serving bowl.

  Gather the salad ingredients

  Steps:

  1. Wash and dry all of the vegetables.
  2. Put the cabbage leaves aside, you won’t need them until serving time.
  3. Keep the 1 cup of bean sprouts aside for the same reason
  4. To a large salad bowl add:
     • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
     • 1 handful of hand torn coriander leaves and stems
     • 1/2 red capsicum fine sliced (deseeded and pith removed)
     • 1/3 of a burpless cucumber sliced and quartered
     • 1 shallot fine sliced
     • 1 spring onion fine sliced
     • 6 halved cherry tomatoes
     • 1 handful of hand torn mint leaves
     • 1 medium carrot fine sliced  (I use a potato peeler to make thin strips)
     • 1 handful of hand torn snow peas (chop the ends off each first.

  Cook the beef steaks

  

  Steps:

  1. Preheat your fry-pan and add a splash of olive oil. You could barbecue them outside of course but I prefer a fry-pan when cooking eye fillet steaks.
  2. Cook the eye fillet steaks to  medium rare and allow them to rest, optionally adding a bit of kecap manis or soy sauce at this point.
  3. Thinly slice the cooked steaks.

  Serving Suggestions

  Steps:

  1. Place a whole cabbage leaf on each plate.
     • Fill to the brim with the salad ingredients.
     • Add the beef slices.
     • Throw some bean sprouts over the top.
  2. Serve along with the roasted rice and Nam jim dressing, sliced fresh chillis and unsalted peanuts.

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Here are more southeast asian inspired cuisine and salad posts:

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 18, 2016

• 

  PK’s Thai Beef Salad

  I love south east asian salads. They are a feast for your eyes and your taste buds. The range of flavours is diverse and so hard to get right sometimes. The pay off is worth it though and this particular dish is no exception. It is now a family favourite and lends itself well to any communal meal.

  I have shown my timing preferences below for serving the salad with warm beef slices. Of course, if you prefer cold meat in this dish, you can make them in any order and well ahead of time. Oh and don’t forget to bring your steaks out of the fridge a little earlier so they are approaching room temperature as they go in the frypan.

  STEPS:

  1. Make the Nam jim dressing
  2. Roast the rice
  3. Gather the salad ingredients
  4. Cook the beef steaks
  5. Serving Suggestions

  You will need:

  • Nam jim Ingredients (repeated here for your shopping list):
    • 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chilli
    • 5 coriander roots (cilantro)
    • 3 garlic cloves
    • 2.5cm piece fresh ginger root
    • 3 Tbsp fish sauce
    • 3 Tbsp lime juice
    • 1 Tbsp palm sugar
  • Roasted Rice Ingredients
    • 100g of basmati or jasmine rice
    • 1 Tbsp of rock sea salt
  • Salad Ingredients
    • several large cabbage leaves (1 per person)
    • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
    • 1 handful of coriander leaves and stems
    • 1/2 large red capsicum
    • 1/3 of a burpless cucumber
    • 1 red shallot
    • 1 spring onion
    • 6 cherry tomatoes
    • 1 cup bean sprouts
    • 1 handful of mint leaves
    • 1 medium carrot
    • 1 handful of snow peas
    • your favourite fresh chilis (optional)
    • unsalted peanuts to taste (optional)
  • Steak Ingredients
    • small eye fillet steaks (1 per person)
    • ground black pepper to taste
    • table salt to taste
    • kecap manis or soy sauce (optional)
  • Equipment
    • an oven tray
    • a mortar and pestle
    • a chopping board
    • a small serving bowl for the roasted rice
    • a large salad bowl
    • a large frypan

   Make the Nam jim dressing

  

  Steps:

  1. Make the Nam Jim dressing as per PK’s Favourite Nam Jim Dressing.

  Roast the rice

  Steps:

  1. Pre-heat your oven to 200° C.
  2. Spread the rice grains across an oven tray and cook for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
  3. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool.
  4. Grind 1 Tbsp of rock sea salt in a mortar and pestle.
  5. Add the cooled roasted rice grains to the mortar and pestle and grind to your desired consistency. I personally like the result to be variably granulated and not fully powdered.
  6. Add to a small serving bowl.

   

   

  Gather the salad ingredients

   

  Steps:

  1. Wash and dry all of the vegetables.
  2. Put the cabbage leaves aside as you won’t need them until serving time.
  3. Keep the 1 cup of bean sprouts aside for the same reason
  4. Slice and then
  5. To a large salad bowl add:
     • 2 cups baby spinach leaves
     • 1 handful of hand torn coriander leaves and stems
     • 1/2 red capsicum fine sliced (deseeded and pith removed)
     • 1/3 of a burpless cucumber sliced and quartered
     • 1 shallot fine sliced
     • 1 spring onion fine sliced
     • 6 halved cherry tomatoes
     • 1 handful of hand torn mint leaves
     • 1 medium carrot fine sliced  (I use a potato peeler to make thin strips)
     • 1 handful of hand torn snow peas (chop the ends off each first.

  Cook the beef steaks

  

  Steps:

  1. Preheat your frypan and add a splash of olive oil. You could barbecue them outside of course but I prefer a frypan when cooking eye fillet steaks.
  2. Cook the eye fillet steaks to  medium rare and allow them to rest, optionally adding a bit of kecap manis or soy sauce at this point.
  3. Thinly slice the cooked steaks.

  Serving Suggestions

  Steps:

  1. Place a whole cabbage leaf on each plate.
     • Fill to the brim with the salad ingredients.
     • Add the beef slices.
     • Throw some bean sprouts over the top.
  2. Serve to the table and let each person add as much or as little  of the roasted rice and Nam jim dressing as they like.
  3. Have sliced fresh chillis and unsalted peanuts on the table for just the same reason.

   

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 18, 2016

• 

  The Easiest Nam Jim Dressing

  Wikipedia writes ‘Nam jim (น้ำจิ้ม) is Thai for “dipping sauce”. It can refer to a wide variety of dipping sauces in Thai cuisine, with many of them being a combination of salty, sweet, spicy and sour’.

  I use this dressing in my PK’s Thai Beef Salad.

  I use a blender (don’t tell anyone please) instead of a mortar and pestle because I am lazy. You will get a more visually appealing result if you use the former, though I hope the taste is similar. I primarily use this dressing on my Thai Beef Salads and they have a lot going on visually anyway.

  Edit: Last time I made this dressing I used a mortar and pestle and the results were worth it 🙂

  If you haven’t already, please go and have a read of my post PK’s Curry Paste Kit. It will show you just how off the charts bonkers I am about using whole spices and the freshest ingredients when making your own pastes etc. Actually maybe give that post a miss ;).

  STEPS:

  1. Gather the ingredients
  2. Mix in the wet blender
  3. Serving

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chili
    • 5 coriander roots (cilantro)
    • 3 garlic cloves
    • 2.5cm piece fresh ginger root
    • 3 Tbsp fish sauce
    • 3 Tbsp lime juice
    • 1 Tbsp palm sugar
  • Equipment
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a tablespoon
    • a teaspoon
    • a medium sized bowl
    • a wet blender with a small bowl
    • a dry mill (optional)
    • a small serving bowl for the middle of the table

  Gather the ingredients

  Steps:

  1. Dry mill your whole kashmiri chilis to get 1 tsb. Mostly I use store bought powder though.
  2. Wash the 5 coriander roots thoroughly if you have just harvested them. I have a stash in the freezer though of roots retained after using the rest of the plant. See my post Herbs – Coriander (Coriandrum sativum).
  3. Peel and rough chop the 3 garlic cloves.
  4. Peel and rough chop the 2.5cm ginger root.
  5. Bring the 3 Tbsp fish sauce, 3 Tbsp lime juice and 1 Tbsp palm sugar together.

  

  Mix in the wet blender

  Steps:

  1. Pop everything into your wet blender and pulse till you get the look you are after.
  2. Have a taste and add a bit more of anything you think is under represented. For example I normally add a bit more fish sauce for the saltiness factor.

  

  Serving

  Pop the lot in a serving bowl. I do this so that every one can build their own Thai salad at dinner. I haven’t tried storing this in the fridge for very long but the salt content of the fish sauce should let it keep for a while. You might just want to freshen up the citrus flavour by adding a bit of lime or lemon juice.

  I would love to hear about your favourite Thai salad dressing or dipping sauce.

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 12, 2016

• 

  PK’s Favourite Nam Jim Dressing

  Wikipedia writes ‘Nam jim (น้ำจิ้ม) is Thai for “dipping sauce”. It can refer to a wide variety of dipping sauces in Thai cuisine, with many of them being a combination of salty, sweet, spicy and sour’.

  I use this dressing in my PK’s Thai Beef Salad.

  I use a blender (don’t tell anyone please) instead of a mortar and pestle because I am lazy. You will get a more visually appealing result if you use the former, though I hope the taste is similar. I primarily use this dressing on my Thai Beef Salads and they have a lot going on visually anyway.

  Edit: Last time I made this dressing I used a mortar and pestle and the results were worth it 🙂

  If you haven’t already, please go and have a read of my post PK’s Curry Paste Kit. It will show you just how off the charts bonkers I am about using whole spices and the freshest ingredients when making your own pastes etc. Actually maybe give that post a miss ;).

  STEPS:

  1. Gather the ingredients
  2. Mix in the wet blender
  3. Serving

  You will need:

  • Ingredients:
    • 1 tsp powdered kashmiri chili
    • 5 coriander roots (cilantro)
    • 3 garlic cloves
    • 2.5cm piece fresh ginger root
    • 3 Tbsp fish sauce
    • 3 Tbsp lime juice
    • 1 Tbsp palm sugar
  • Equipment
    • a chopping board
    • a long sharp knife
    • a tablespoon
    • a teaspoon
    • a medium sized bowl
    • a wet blender with a small bowl
    • a dry mill (optional)
    • a small serving bowl for the middle of the table

  Gather the ingredients

  Steps:

  1. Dry mill your whole kashmiri chilis to get 1 tsb. Mostly I use store bought powder though.
  2. Wash the 5 coriander roots thoroughly if you have just harvested them. I have a stash in the freezer though of roots retained after using the rest of the plant. See my post Herbs – Coriander (Coriandrum sativum).
  3. Peel and rough chop the 3 garlic cloves.
  4. Peel and rough chop the 2.5cm ginger root.
  5. Bring the 3 Tbsp fish sauce, 3 Tbsp lime juice and 1 Tbsp palm sugar together.

  

  Mix in the wet blender

  Steps:

  1. Pop everything into your wet blender and pulse till you get the look you are after.
  2. Have a taste and add a bit more of anything you think is under represented. For example I normally add a bit more fish sauce for the saltiness factor.

  

  Serving

  Pop the lot in a serving bowl. I do this so that every one can build their own Thai salad at dinner. I haven’t tried storing this in the fridge for very long but the salt content of the fish sauce should let it keep for a while. You might just want to freshen up the citrus flavour by adding a bit of lime or lemon juice.

  I would love to hear about your favourite Thai salad dressing or dipping sauce.

  Enjoy,

  PK

  Written by

  PK

  ·

  June 12, 2016