The Addition That Takes Beef Stew Up A Notch

While beef stew is hearty, filling, and a great dinner on a cold day, it can also be somewhat boring if made with nothing more than meat and vegetables. If you're a pho fan, though, you can turn that bland stew into a Vietnamese-inspired dish with just a splash of fish sauce.

Fish sauce is one of our favorite secret ingredients, and there are many ways to use it in your cooking. When not in stealth mode, it makes up the backbone of nuoc cham, a Vietnamese dipping sauce that takes spring rolls to astonishing heights. But when it goes undercover, it can bring umami to dishes as disparate as spaghetti sauce, boxed macaroni and cheese, tuna salad sandwiches, and even corn on the cob. 

If you're adding it to beef stew, start with a conservative amount and use less of the salt that's called for in the recipe (fish sauce on its own is quite salty). You may also want to stir in sugar, since sweet and salty together make for an even more flavorful stew. From there, let the stew simmer in order to make sure the fish sauce has a chance to blend with the other flavors.

While fish sauce is indeed a multi-purpose miracle worker, there's one thing it can't do, and that's overcome a fish allergy. Finned fish are among the more common food allergies, and being allergic to fish means you'll be sensitive to fish sauce as well. But that doesn't mean you can't still add some Asian-inspired savory flavor to your stew, as there are various other substitutes you could use.

Soy sauce is a good swap for fish sauce, as both condiments are salty and savory. To add another dimension to the flavor, you could also add rice vinegar and lime juice to the soy sauce. Tamari is also a great option, especially if you're on a gluten-free diet, or you can use oyster sauce if you're not allergic to shellfish (it does include oyster extract). As oyster sauce tends to be sweeter than fish sauce, you may want to reduce the amount of sugar or omit it altogether. 

Coconut aminos and vegan fish sauce (which is often made from mushrooms and soy sauce) are also good fish sauce substitutes. If you're eating beef stew, you're probably not following a plant-based diet, but both of these vegan-friendly condiments have the additional benefit of being fish-free.