Red Boat Fish Sauce

Red Boat fish sauce has two ingredients: black anchovies and sea salt, fermented in traditional wooden barrels on the Phú Quốc island coast of Vietnam for over a year. It's become the default for chefs and serious home cooks for a reason. No additives, no sugar, no water. That restraint is why it tastes so clean and why a small amount does so much.

Use it anywhere you want to add a savoury lift: stir-fries, marinades, dipping sauces, salad dressings, braised greens. It's also surprisingly good stirred into butter for basting a roast chicken, or whisked into the base of a bolognese where it disappears completely and just makes everything taste more like itself.

Punchier than most supermarket fish sauces, so start with less than the recipe calls for.

500 ml bottle. If you're already a fan, their anchovy salt is also worth having.