Fish Sauce Caramel
Before you freak out...fish sauce is a common ingredient in caramel sauce, and in fact this sauce could be used for both savoury and sweet applications...see below!
Fish sauce adds depth and umami to caramel, enhancing its savoury notes. It provides a subtle brininess that complements the sweetness of caramel. The combination creates a complex flavour profile, balancing sweetness with a hint of salty richness.
We are using this caramel as part of our Fish Sauce Coffee Ice Cream recipe for the Vietnamese cooking class...hopefully you are across that. I first experienced a fish sauce coffee (which tasted like melted ice cream to me, thus the idea was born) in Vietnam on one of our foodie tours. As a non coffee drinker I was intrigued and had to give it a go. I was worried it was born of social media and would be just weird, but it was actually delicious. So in breaking down the idea of the ice cream recipe, we decided to create this caramel, which can be used in other ways.
It does smell a bit funky when you are cooking it, but ventilate the kitchen and keep going. We used unsalted butter and I think this is important to note. Fish sauces vary quite a lot in saltiness, so this is how you can control the level of salt in the sauce. You can add salt afterwards if you think it needs it. I have a bit of an issue with 'salted caramel' anything (in restaurants etc) not being salty enough to really call themselves 'salted'. The salt balances the sweetness so nicely that I prefer saltier, as opposed to not enough.
Try it on any of the following (with caution);
Poached Snapper Salad with Crispy Rice
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Need
- 125 Grams unsalted butter cubed BUY
- 125 Milliliters cream
- 150 Grams dark brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste BUY
- 40 Grams fish sauce
Do
- 1
Place all ingredients into the Thermomix bowl and cook 12 min/Varoma/speed 2/spatter guard.
- 2
Or to speed things up a notch, if you are really in a hurry for that dessert....throw it all in a saucepan, whack it onto the induction and stir to combine. Cook around 2-3 min/Induction 5 until bubbling and thickened.
- 3
Taste the sauce and decide if you need more fish sauce or even a pinch of salt. This will be dependent on the fish sauce you use.
Tenina Holder is a wife, mother of five and grandmother of eight, who started cooking in the olden days before Thermomix was even a thing.
Tenina has become the premium go to source for all Thermomix expertise and of course fresh and easy recipes that work. Her cooking classes and foodie trips are sold out in literally hours, her cookbooks appear on the Australian best seller lists and her social reach is in the millions. Her Insider Club is the most fun you can have with a Thermomix and you really should join her! She believes chocolate, butter and salt are health foods. Her food positivity mantra is, eat everything, just not all at once!
