Best Vegan “Fish Sauce” – Bottle of Maggi Seasoning
Love it or hate it, anyone who has come across fish sauce can agree that it’s far from bland, but that’s exactly what vegan fish sauce is often. Sniffing or slightly tasting anything with the words “fish sauce” on the label should be on the verge of an unpleasant experience. Why do so many alternative vegans refuse to go there?
To be honest, I haven’t tried every vegan fish sauce on the market. However, all the ones I’ve tried make the same mistake: they try to mimic the aggressively fishy taste of fish sauce with seaweed. However, fish sauce and seaweed are “fishy” in two completely different ways, and the latter is too bland. It lacks that fancy, smelly, extremely salty punch you want from a fish sauce substitute – otherwise it’s just seaweed-flavoured umami water with a dash of soy sauce for good measure.
At least we still have Maggi’s seasoning sauce. It may not taste exactly like fish sauce, but it behaves exactly the same, and that’s what makes it so special. I’m biased, but I think Maggi Sauce is the perfect ingredient to have in every home, whether it’s plant-based or not. If you have used Bragg’s liquid amino acids, they are very similar, but for me, Maggi is much better. It’s more whimsical and salty, with an immediately recognizable flavor that can easily overwhelm a dish if you’re not careful – just like the real thing. It’s also much cheaper than Bragg’s (not to mention the overpriced vegan fish sauce). You can buy a huge bottle at almost any East Asian supermarket for a few dollars, and because it’s so powerful, it will last a long time.
My only caveat: Like fish sauce, Maggi is very spicy and comes out of the bottle in a hurry, which means it can be a lot at first. (My first experience with Maggi was when I accidentally poured too much on my bánh mì in Best Baguette and swallowed it. No regrets!) That’s why cookbook author and fellow Maggi lover Andrea Nguyen’s Tofu Shake recipe is the perfect introduction to this ingredient. . This is a very quick and very easy sautéed tofu with a maggi-based sauce that tastes much more complex than the short list of ingredients would suggest, with a fresh herb salad component that sets off the tofu perfectly. All in all, this is an impeccable summer dinner recipe and a great way to get to know a new staple of the kitchen. Trust me, once you figure out how much Maggi is enough, you’ll put it on everything.