Vegetarian fish sauce alternative for Thai cooking?

Has anyone tried any vegan alternatives to fish sauce that actually provide the funk, umami, and flavor? Soy sauce won't cut it. I've seen some suggestions using miso and seaweed.

Why? Apparently Kosher laws forbid including fish and meat in the same dish (not the milk and meat rule, it's less restrictive but is still there). Don't ask me, I don't make these rules, I just have to feed people.

I just googled vegan substitute for fish sauce and this recipe from CI came up. Here is the link.
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_to ... fish-sauce

Their recipe uses dried mushrooms and soy sauce. It sounds like it might work.

NFriday wrote:I just googled vegan substitute for fish sauce and this recipe from CI came up. Here is the link.
https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_to ... fish-sauce

Their recipe uses dried mushrooms and soy sauce. It sounds like it might work.

I have used the ATK/CI recipe. I don't know what would add unctuousness/funk(perhaps a vegan ferment like kimchi, yes I make my own).

I’d do some sampling with things like fermented black beans and fermented tofu. I found a fermented tofu at Jung boo that is nice and funky, as well as salty like fish sauce, that would probably make a worthy substitute.

Many well-stocked Asian markets carry vegetarian fish sauce. Ten years ago I bought a bottle (at Tai Nam, I think), completely out of curiosity. As I recall, it smelled surprisingly similar to the real thing, and the taste was closer than I expected. I used it in a simple stir-fried dish, without a lot of other seasonings, and found it pretty disappointing. Some of the expected flavors were there, but something was lacking (fish perhaps??). I never used it again. It might work a lot better in more complex dishes, like Thai curries. It's probably going to be a closer approximation than most substitutes, but I'd suggest a test run before using it in a dish for guests. A number of brands are available, some almost certainly better than others.

Andrea Nguyen (one of my favorite cookbook authors) has a blog post about this. I haven't tried it but her recipes have never let me down...

5-ingredient vegetarian fish sauce