Does Fish Sauce Go Bad?

Published on Wednesday, September 30, 2009, by CHOW Video Team / Edit Post

Does Fish Sauce Go Bad?

Corinne Trang, author of Noodles Every Day, shares the lowdown on how to store fish sauce. A fermented product doesn’t stop fermenting once it’s bottled, so be sure to refrigerate it and use it within about nine months. If it has gone dark, get rid of it.

CHOW Tips are the shared wisdom of our community. If you’ve figured out some piece of food, drink, or cooking wisdom that you’d like to share on video (and you can be in San Francisco), email Meredith Arthur and tell us what you’ve got in mind.

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  • RE: kusinero - if salt cristals form in the fish sauce it means that the solution is saturated with salt. At that salt level no "bugs" (yeast/bacteria/mould) will grow or reproduce - period. So the notion that fermentation is still occuring or that "salt simply keeps some bacteria in check" is nonsense.

  • I suspect that fish sauce exposed to air, like wine, becomes dark due to oxidation. This will impact the taste of the fish sauce.

    The salt concentration in fish sauce should inhibit bacterial growth but there are certain microorganisms that can still thrive in such conditions. It would be an interesting microbiology experiment to culture various fish sauces and determine if any "bugs" were to...+READ

    I suspect that fish sauce exposed to air, like wine, becomes dark due to oxidation. This will impact the taste of the fish sauce.

    The salt concentration in fish sauce should inhibit bacterial growth but there are certain microorganisms that can still thrive in such conditions. It would be an interesting microbiology experiment to culture various fish sauces and determine if any "bugs" were to grow. Fermented foodstuffs (beer, wine, cheese and soy sauce), require yeasts and bacteria for us to eventually enjoy. My opinion is that there is still some fermentation occurring since the bottling of fish sauce is not completely a sterile process. The salt simply keeps some bacteria in check.

    Crystalization occurs because the salt concentration in the bottle increases as the water content in the liquid is lost over time due to evaporation; especially if the bottle is not properly sealed or made of plastic. Certain types of plastic may "breathe" introducing oxygen to its contents. Also, plastic residue can eventually react with the fish sauce which can impact taste. (Ever wonder why we are seeing BPA free water bottles and containers?)

    Thus, fish sauce if not used right away and left to sit can go "bad"; oxidation the predominant offending chemical process.

    BTW, growing up in a Filipino household that used fish sauce frequently, I've never encountered this problem.-COLLAPSE

  • nuoc mum nhi is the good stuff, the first press, the extra virgin of fish sauce. It is definitely more expensive, but comes in little bottles. and for a person like me, who makes Vietnamese dishes a few times a year this is perfect. But for the cost and waist, i rather have the superior product that also fits my needs in terms of volume.

  • I'm with Pollo on this one- you can't have fermentation in the presence of that much salt.

  • Where does she get that nonsense that fish sauce keeps fermenting? Yes, there are "bugs" still present in the finished product but these are sporeformers and they do not grow at the salt levels found in the fish sauce.....

  • Just like superf, this dialogue was helpful to me though I am also still wondering why dark or crystals are signs of a fish sauce gone bad?

  • this dialogue was helpful to me. but i still am wondering about 1. the best or premium brands of fish sauce, and 2. why dark is considered bad...is it somehow overfermented? if so, isn't that subjective? also, does this mean that the lighter the fish sauce, the better? i never heard that before...

  • vorpal
    thanks form me too, someone who is a newbee/wannabee foodiee
    specially for the brand names of the fish sauce.
    i really look forward to suggestions of actual brands- as it is difficult to choose from the myriad of products- especially when the suggestions are in an affordable range
    keep it coming- i will look forward to all ur posts

  • Thanks for the suggestions Vorpal--I will definitely bear them in mind the next time I'm gathering ingredients!

  • mudaba: Thanks for the information! It is definitely true: we are so used to product placement that we expect it. It is refreshing and highly encouraging to hear that Chow has been immune to this. I was just a little surprised by the inclusion of Thai Kitchen, because it really is one of the worst brands of fish sauce. Had you included Golden Boy, Squid, or any other number of brands, I probably...+READ

    mudaba: Thanks for the information! It is definitely true: we are so used to product placement that we expect it. It is refreshing and highly encouraging to hear that Chow has been immune to this. I was just a little surprised by the inclusion of Thai Kitchen, because it really is one of the worst brands of fish sauce. Had you included Golden Boy, Squid, or any other number of brands, I probably wouldn't have batted an eye-COLLAPSE

  • Vorpal, I'm glad you weighed in and thanks for your note. One of the dangers of my job is that I choose the wrong brand when prepping for these shoots; viewers are so accustomed to product placement that they assume everything must be a paid ad. But luckily we have not had to accept any product placement for our videos. We did a bunch of shots of the fish sauce from the side so that people could...+READ

    Vorpal, I'm glad you weighed in and thanks for your note. One of the dangers of my job is that I choose the wrong brand when prepping for these shoots; viewers are so accustomed to product placement that they assume everything must be a paid ad. But luckily we have not had to accept any product placement for our videos. We did a bunch of shots of the fish sauce from the side so that people could tell what the color is supposed to be, but I can see how that would come out looking like an ad...Thanks again, Mudaba-COLLAPSE

  • Mudaba: Ahhh... apologies, then. I got the impression with all the shots of Thai Kitchen combined with her recommendation to buy a small bottle that it was a push.

  • The last fish sauce i bought started out dark

  • She's not pushing anything! The Thai Kitchen fish sauce was the only one I could find that morning on my way to the shoot. We don't accept product placement in our videos, so any problems you have with the stuff you see are all my fault.

    Meredith, grocery shopper and producer of CHOW Tips

  • I can't believe she's pushing Thai Kitchen fish sauce, which is without doubt one of the most overpriced, inauthentic, low quality companies involved in Thai ingredient manufacture. I don't think there's a single product from them that I'd recommend!