Fish Sauce Caramel Recipe

At this point, I’m sure that you’ve had salted caramel at least once in your lifetime. It’s been around for what feels like forever now and was really popular back in the late 2000s. I’m here to officially announce that salted caramel is finally passing the torch and stepping out of the limelight, making way for fish sauce caramel. Fish sauce caramel is both unique and flavorful and combines the umami-rich taste of fish sauce with the sweetness of caramel. It’s seriously a perfect union that elevates a standard caramel into a whole different stratosphere – it’s seriously life-changing.

Honestly, this fish sauce caramel makes too much sense not to try. It’s interesting to note that in Vietnamese culture, caramel, or “nước màu,” is often used in a lot of Vietnamese braised recipes like Thịt Kho Tiêu or Gà Kho Gừng, and the caramel adds a level of sweetness and color to these savory dishes. For this fish sauce caramel recipe, though, we flip that thinking and lean into the fish sauce, adding savory notes to the sweetness of the caramel.

Use this fish sauce caramel anywhere you would use caramel! I used it in a Vietnamese Coffee Affogado and it was amazing!

How to Make Fish Sauce Caramel:

Step 1: Add a cup of sugar to a heavy-bottomed sauce pot.

Step 2: Slowly melt the sugar on medium-low. The sugar will start to crystalize and clump up.

Step 3: Eventually, the sugar will dissolve.

Step 4: Let the sugar fully dissolve and turn a dark amber color. Be careful not to burn the sugar; otherwise, it will taste acrid.

Step 5: Add two tablespoons of butter and melt completely.

Step 6: Turn off the heat and add one cup of heavy whipping cream, mixing well and fully incorporating.

Step 7: Finish the caramel by adding one tablespoon of fish sauce.

Protip: Use Three Crabs Fish Sauce! Personally, I think this is the best fish sauce! The flavor is well-rounded without being too salty or too fishy.