Fish Sauce Substitutes r/fermentation Readers Use in Kimchi
When we wrote about what replaces fish sauce in kimchi , the post that got shared on r/fermentation leaned on one study: tomato extract measured ahead of anchovy fish sauce on glutamic acid, the compound behind umami. That thread pulled 101,000 views and top spot on the subreddit that day, and in the comments, nine different readers described what they actually put in their own jars instead. None of it comes with a lab measurement. All of it comes from people who've made the substitution more than once. The Fermented-Paste Route The most common substitute readers named was a paste most Korean kitchens already stock. u/BaylisAscaris wrote, "I added miso paste and it was fine." u/_hawkeye_96 goes further and uses it even in batches that still have fish sauce: "I also use miso in kimchi with great success. Although I do typically use fish sauce as well, I replace the anchovy paste in the traditional recipe with white or yellow miso." u/narf_7 reaches for doenjan...