Skip Salt And Use One Sauce To Add Better Flavor To Homemade Salad Dressings

There are so many types of salad dressings out there on your grocer's shelf, from classic creamy Caesar to trend-inspired variations like hot honey mustard. And while the breadth of options may render it unnecessary to make your own, having the ability to customize your dressing as a home cook is good inspiration to go through the trouble.

Most salad dressing recipes follow a similar framework — a combination of oil, acid (like lemon juice), something sweet (like honey), seasonings, an ingredient that will bring body to the equation (like mustard), and of course, like any good culinary creation, salt. But there's one ingredient you may have been sleeping on that will really make your homemade condiment stand out big time. If you've wondered what fish sauce is and how to cook with it, using it in your next salad dressing is one way to make great use of this condiment.

Fish sauce is an umami-rich liquid that is sometimes referred to as funky or pungent, but one quality it always brings to the table is saltiness. That's because this stuff is the product of small fish (often anchovies) that have been fermented with salt. The resulting liquid is a flavorful and unique ingredient that can enhance your salad dressing, no matter the style. 

In the case of salad dressing, fish sauce can easily take the role of table salt (or supplement it). About 2 tablespoons mixed into a formula that includes ¾ cup of olive oil and ¼ cup of acid will do the trick. That said, if you'd like a funkier option, you can omit the oil and go for about ½ cup of fish sauce to 2 tablespoons of an acid like rice wine vinegar, along with your sweetener, additional seasonings, and a bit of water.

Fish sauce pairs well with lots of other salad-friendly flavors, like lime and garlic or lemongrass and ginger, but it is super versatile and adds complexity and umami to just about any you can dream up. Given that fish sauce is one of the secret ingredients you should be using in your instant ramen, it would be an intuitive addition tossed into a cold noodle salad, or you can use this tip for a fresh take on Caesar salad (as it's an ideal stand-in for anchovies).

There are multiple types of fish sauce, too. While one of the most common commercially available option may be the Vietnamese version (particularly the brand Red Boat), many Asian cultures have their own version too — as does Italy (even the Ancient Romans got in on the pungent fish sauce game). While you may detect slight differences, they share this salty, umami-rich quality that will be a game changer in your salad dressing creation no matter what.