Shelf Life of
Fish Sauce Substitutes

What is a Substitute for Fish Sauce?

Fish & Soy SubstitutesFish Sauce substitute, what to substitute for fish sauce when cooking. Fish sauce has a long shelf life, but if it has gone bad or you don’t care to buy any or you have run out, you need to find a proper fish sauce substitute so check the table below for substitutions for fish sauce. Also listed is a Soy Sauce substitute. It is important to note that substitutions do NOT always work both ways, you can’t always read a table backwards to substitute one thing for another and these two products are the perfect example. You can substitute soy sauce for fish sauce, but we do NOT recommend substituting fish sauce when the recipe calls for soy sauce.

Fish Sauce substitute and Soy Sauce substitute suggestions are listed below:

Substitutions for Fish Sauce and Substitutions for Soy Sauce:

Fish Sauce Amount Substitute
Fish Sauce substitute 1 teaspoon 1 teaspoon Worcestershire Sauce
*OR* 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
Soy Sauce substitute Any Mix 4 parts of Worcestershire Sauce with 1 part Water



But remember, when making fish sauce substitutions be sure to measure accurately for best results. These substitutions for fish sauce may alter slightly the taste, texture, weight, or moisture content of the finished product.
Soy sauce makes a good substitution for fish sauce, especially for vegetarian dishes, but it is NOT recommended to substitute fish sauce when a recipe calls for soy sauce.
**Repeat – do NOT use fish sauce as a substitute for soy sauce, the resulting recipe will have a fishy taste and be too salty.