Often considered vegetarian in Thai restaurants, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and shrimp paste readily feature in Thai cooking. Furthermore, even if you find a vegan restaurant that does not use shrimp paste and fish sauce, oyster sauce is still a strong possibility as many Thais consider it to be vegan.
So what are the options and how do you get around the issues?
Fish Sauce
Fish sauce, or nam plaa, is used with abandon in Thai cuisine. Luckily, since some of the country's cuisine is cooked quickly and often on the spot, it's easy to customise your meals by asking for condiments like fish sauce and oyster sauce to be left out of a dish.
But what about at home? The fermented umami punch of this ubiquitous ingredient helps to make Thai food taste, well, Thai. But of course it isn't suitable for vegans, so what are some cruelty-free alternatives?
Here is where I get on my soap box. If there's one thing that annoys me in Thai vegan cooking it's the many poor fish sauce substitutes that either exist pre-bottled or that recipe authors create. They are as akin to fish sauce as water is to wine.
A good vegan fish sauce is made from fermented soya beans and lots of salt. If there is sugar (although a tiny bit, if just for balance rather than sweetness, is okay), vinegar, lime juice, chilli, or any bits floating around in a clear or pink-ish liquid then throw the bottle right into the pits of hell (joking - just use it as a dipping sauce for fried things). If your recipe includes seaweed or any of the above ingredients, don't bother. Fish sauce does not taste like any kind of seaweed. Many authors boast their recipe includes a requisite fishy flavour, meaning seaweed, but nonvegan fish sauce does not taste fishy so much as it does funky. This isn't to say those recipes won't taste good, but rather a statement they are not comparable to fish sauce, vegan or otherwise.
I have found the odd few vegetarian fish sauce varieties that are suitable (the brands you will find are likely to be Vietnamese), but they aren't always easy to come by. My favourite brand of vegan fish sauce, which is both salty and funky like the nonvegan versions, is Au Lac (pictured middle in above photo).
If you can't find a decent bottle of vegan sauce, use a combination of light/thin soy sauce with some added salt. Fish sauce is a lot saltier than light soy sauce, so the addition of extra salt will at least approximate the briny flavour. Sometimes I add a little bit of fermented white tofu for a hint of pungency. A mix of 1 teaspoon liquid from a jar of white fermented tofu, ½ teaspoon of thin soy sauce, and a slightly rounded ⅛ teaspoon salt will give you a funkier result that still maintains the high salt content of good fish sauce.
Oyster Sauce
There are many oyster sauce alternatives, which are gloopy in texture and usually made with mushrooms. If it isn't labelled vegetarian oyster sauce, the bottle might be labelled as mushroom stir fry sauce. Use these interchangeably with oyster sauce.
Not pictured: Lee Kum Kee now has a vegan oyster sauce alternative made using artificial shellfish flavouring rather than mushrooms. It's good.
Shrimp Paste
That gorgeous curry stall with half a dozen varieties, including an all vegetable blend, is about as likely to be vegan as a bean is likely to transform into a bat. Shrimp paste (gapi) is a fragrant fermented mass used in most curry pastes and often added to various Thai dishes for a pungent and salty kick.
You might think it's gross, but may have inadvertently eaten it if you regularly order Thai curries in non vegetarian Thai restaurants. Always ask beforehand if the curry pastes are made with shrimp paste. Most people know to ask for no fish sauce, but shrimp paste is still a likely lurker.
There are vegan alternatives, readily (ish) available in Thailand, made from fermented bean protein. They are not dissimilar to a dark miso. In my opinion, vegan shrimp pastes made in Thailand taste more similar to Korean doenjang than to any Japanese miso. Nevertheless, miso is a good substitution, or a combination of miso and fermented bean paste. Swapping shrimp paste out for doenjang or miso will mean you still achieve a tasty end result. Seek dark bean pastes, not white miso, from your local Asian grocer if you feel like you want to spend the time making your own curry pastes.
You can also eliminate shrimp paste from curry paste recipes and just use a little extra salt instead. Most premade vegan curry pastes in Thailand are made this way.
Caitlin says
Great guide! Do you know where you can buy any of those fish sauces in London? I'm ashamed to admit I've been using a certain recipe I found online that contains the dreaded seaweed! Had no idea it was so bad!
Kip says
My words are really harsh on the matter only because I'm dead passionate about that flavour, which is one that is highly fermented. The best way I can think to describe the smell it ought to have is, unappealingly, dirty pants! There's nothing inherently wrong with other preparations, but they just don't operate in the same way (and fish sauce doesn't taste in any way of seaweed). I have spent years looking for good vegan fish sauce and have found it twice. Once was last spring at Star Night supermarket in Hackney (so worth a look again)! If I don't have any to hand, however, I will use a combination of Thai soy sauce, salt, and fermented white bean curd.
Caitlin says
Haha. I have to admit the version I made using an online recipe I found didn't smell like dirty pants! I'll have to check the place in Hackney I guess... 🙂 Thanks for the tip!
Emu says
I have to admit my first association regarding fish sauce smell wasn't dirty pants but some sort of imaginary bogey concentrate...
Still, great ingredient!
paul says
veg oyster sauce http://www.souschef.co.uk/vegetarian-oyster-sauce.html
google is your friend 🙂
Kip says
They are a great company too! Very fast delivery and great quality products.
Amélie says
This is an amazing post! I had some of that vegan fish sauce in the middle on your photo whilst in Vietnam a few months ago and every night I am whipping myself for not buying a bottle to carry around for my South East Asian backpacking adventure.
Kip says
It's interesting to know you actually saw it in Vietnam. Do you recall where exactly? It's so hard to come by a good vegan fish sauce in the UK that I stockpile when I find anything (I'm hoping the shop I bought that particular bottle from will do an order for me when my supply finally runs out).
Amélie says
I saw it when taking a cooking class at a restaurant called Karma Waters in Hoi An. The lady there said she bought it from a Jay food supply store, but I don't know where that was. They definitely have none of that in Thailand, I've been here for 4 months and looking for it to no avail.
Kip says
Thais don't use faux fish sauce, opting instead for seasoning sauce, soy sauce, or salt as a substitution. Sometimes they'll use vegan shrimp paste (which you can find at any of the jay shops) or fermented beans. Vietnam seems to be the only place! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed Hoi An. I haven't been for years and it's such a cute spot to spend a few days.
K says
I might be too late but I saw multiple sauces in Saigon last year, they have multiple fake meat shops there and a 4 floor building that's called Au Lac Vegetarian World, all vegan, not super tasty though. I did not buy it because I only had hand luggage and even though I could have checked my bag in, the ingredients were quite simple so I thought I'll make it at home haha.
Kip says
I know the place you mean. I've been there before and have a hilarious photo of me posing with a massive bottle of the fish sauce that I asked a very confused member of staff to take.
Trang says
the company that made that vegan fish sauce (middle pic) is call Au Lac and in Vietnam they are the biggest producer and one of the first comercial vegetarian/vegan company. Their products can be found in most large supermarkets in Saigon and all other big cities there. In Australia, they can be found in virtually all Asian Supermarket, particularly Vietnamese/Chinese. Just show them the picture on your phone. But if you are in Vietnam then be sure to check out an artisan vegan fish sauce (which in my opinion far superior than Au Lac's) calls Thuan Chay Lao Nong Vegan Fish Sauce (Vegan Farmer's 'Fish' Sauce). It's made in Phan Thiet, the region traditionally famous for actual fish sauce, and their product is like the real thing but vegan. The owner is actually a thirty something year old vegan with a Buffet Store in Phan Thiet (his Mui Ne branch now sold to someone else) but this main store in Phan Thiet is still open and his buffet are delicious and super cheap. I've been there 3x already! Also, keep an eye for Red Lotus Vegan Fish Sauce, they are made here in Sydney, Australia they also do a almost like the real thing Vegan Shrimp Paste too!
Kip says
Hi Trang,
Thanks for much for this info! That's very exciting. I'll definitely keep an eye out and the next time I'm in Vietnam will bring a larger suitcase...
Bianca says
Dried porcini mushrooms add a lovely and fishy umami flavor. You can soak or simmer them in tamari.
Kip says
That's a great tip for adding umami to a dish. The nucleotides in the mushrooms plus the glutamates in soy sauce, when combined, are the perfect umami recipe.
toni says
This is a great post! Where can you find any of these in the US east coast?
Kip says
Thanks, Toni. I'm not sure about sourcing products in the United States, but your best bet would be an Asian market. Chinese and Vietnamese grocers are good place to start.
Tess says
You might try the H Mart which I heard is equivalent of the west coast's Ranch 99 Market. 🙂
Tess says
Thank you SO MUCH for knowing the difference between shrimp paste and soy sauce. lol I have ranted the same as you after purchasing some of the other suggestions I've found online only to discover their flavors amount to soy sauce with added MSG. OMG. I've been trying to find non-ocean subs for asian ingredients for my husband who has a seafood allergy and this is exactly what I needed! Wishing you great karma/luck and holidays for such a wonderful contribution! Thanks again. 🙂
Kip says
Happy to help 🙂 I'm obsessed with strong, fermented flavours. It does my head in when people act like throwing some nori into a recipe will taste the same as every single possible seafood related item on the planet.
Paul says
I'm surprised about the debate over oyster sauce. Did you hear this from Thai vegans? I lived there for a bit over three years as a vegan, and never heard of it, though I speak Thai and frequented various Thai vegan and vegetarian establishments. Maybe I was blissfully unaware of what I was eating...bleah.
Now if you go to a meat-serving restaurant, you will have to explain to them about kapi, nam pla, and oyster sauce (nam man hoy), and maybe that it's not OK to just pick the pork out of pre-made laat naa sauce-that thick, sometimes gooey stuff served over wide noodles. I would expect a vegan place not to have any of the above in their kitchen though.
Kip says
I have seen it used heavily in the kitchen of one well known vegetarian restaurant in Chiang Mai (and I have seen it written on jay menus) and it has been pointed out to me by Thais.
Amelia says
So how good is the Au Lac brand you mentioned above? I ask because I think I found it here in the US on Amazon--but I'd have to buy it as a 12 pack (http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B00HK4RBHO/ref=dp_olp_new_mbc?ie=UTF8&condition=new&tag=messvegecook-20)
I don't mind stocking up if it's good, but I'm hesitant to buy a 12 pack and then find out I hate it.
Kip says
The Au Lac brand is my favourite because it is the most similar to fish sauce that I've tried. It has a very funky saltiness to it that lacks in most other brands. I don't know whether or not that means you'll enjoy it, but it's the best alternative (that I've found anyway).
Jesse James says
Ohhhhh exciting. I googled vego subs for fish sauce (I usually combine light and dark soy and add salt) and saw some pretty gross recipes, wandered into one of the many mixed asian grocery stores in my area (viet dense suburb if sydney) and found the exact fish sauce that you said it the best! So excited! Making green papaya salad tomorrow for lunch so its good timing. Thanks for the tips!!
Kip says
Ace! I hope it turns out well. You are right about the extra salt though, I think. I know I have read something written by at least one Thai that they think using only soy sauce as a fish sauce replacement doesn't make a dish salty enough.
Em Dee says
Jesse James Where was this? I have been looking all over - https://www.reddit.com/r/sydney/comments/5j3p0n/au_lac_vegetarian_fish_sauce/
Wim says
Do you have the brand names of the good vegan fish sauces?
Kip says
Hi Wim,
Yes, the one in the centre is Au Lac brand and that is the best. Lucky Eight and Coconut Tree are the other two brands.
Diana Lopes says
I love seafood so it's good to know the differences between the sauces
Tommy says
I recently bought the Au Lac brand 'fish' sauce (Star Night supermarket, Hackney; except my bottle has different labeling) and must say that although I've yet to cook with it I'm genuinely impressed with the flavour, especially considering the limited ingredients.
Regarding shrimp paste substitutes, which type of miso would you recommend, and ideally which brands, if any. You also mention mixing miso with fermented bean paste, and suggest seeking out dark bean paste for making curry pastes. Can you possibly elaborate further on these suggestions?
Anyway, congrats on a very informative and helpful article.
Kip says
Hi Tommy,
With miso I would go with aka or hatcho and/or then add a bit of fermented Chinese tofu and/or fermented bean paste for a balance of saltiness and funkiness. Since I haven't been diligent enough with my notes on miso, I can't recommend specific brands. Consequently my advice is somewhat vague and relies on tasting for these qualities. If you're making a vegan curry paste, for example, the mix will be quite salty when it's finished. If it's accidentally too salty or not salty enough (based on the substitutions you've made), you can adjust for this in the cooking of the curry itself. A recipe might call for the addition of fish or soy sauce toward the end of cooking, but if the curry tastes like it's either too abundant or lacking in salt you can add more or less to taste. Thai cooking is all about adjusting and tasting as you go anyway! You could even just make a curry paste with a little miso or fermented bean paste (or none even) and then add more to taste at the end of the cooking process...
Sharmila says
Great article! I was wondering if you know of a substitute for dried shrimp? Not the paste but just dried shrimp? I want to make vegetarian Laksa soup and wanted to stay as close as possible to the original flavors.
Kip says
Hi Sharmila,
My experience with dried shrimp substitutes are for garnish and texture than for flavours in pastes. For instance dried shrimp are common salad ingredients in Thai cuisine, like in som tum, and one way Thais mimic that texture and taste is to cut up tofu puffs, deep fry them until crispy, and then coat them in a little bit of salt, sugar, and/or MSG. But that would seem a waste of time to use in a paste. I would lean toward using a decent vegan fish sauce to season after cooking TBH. Regardless of what you do, I would love to hear about it and how the laksa turns out! Good luck.
Ryan says
I have a question on the Oyster Sauce. Before I went vegan I always found Healthy Boy Thin Soy Sauce to be the best soy sauce (as did most Thai chefs I knew at the time which is where i learned some of the authentic recipes) and in terms of Oyster Sauce the MaeKrua brand of Oyster Sauce was the most frequent and best used - both of the above were what I used and the dish flavours were great. Would you say the shown vegan stir fry sauce is a decent alternative to the MaeKrua brand Oyster Sauce if you tried it before? Thanks mate.
Kip says
Hey Ryan,
I haven't tried non vegan oyster sauce brands, but Healthy Boy has a good alternative mushroom sauce used by vegan Thais and those participating in the annual vegetarian festival. I'm not sure what the availability is like outside of Thailand though... I tend to use vegan Chinese brands as they are the easiest for me to find in the UK. I've been happy with them.
Sheila says
Thanks so much for sharing this information on the fish sauce and shrimp paste. Very enlightening. I shall pass it on to friends and family.
Nordin says
Great post, still, even in 2019 🙂
Kip says
Cheers!
Janna says
The vegetarian "oyster" sauce (vegetarian stir fry sauce by Lee Kum Kee) pictured is perfect and the one I use all the time. It tastes exactly like the real thing.
Kip says
It truly is a great product, right?! I loooooove it. Every kitchen out to have a bottle.
Tommy says
Would i find the vegan shrimp paste in the refrigerated section?
Kip says
I have never seen it sold refrigerated, but I have also never seen it for sale outside of SEA. You could try using doenjang like I suggest in the post (typically non refrigerated from a Korean supermarket)
Sid says
I have tried using miso paste and that works albeit diffferent flavour but hey it was nice as a replacement.
PJ says
thanks for this awesome post, some great info & suggestions too
- I'll take a look for these alternatives on my next foray to my local asian-grocers.
Peace and keep safe!
PJ
🙂
Kip says
Hy PJ, hope you find some goodies!
Lynn says
24vegan fish sauce is really good and it has the same taste and smell.
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