Add An Umami Twist To This Unexpected Vegetable With Fish Sauce

Oftentimes, proteins or slow-cooked dishes receive the focus of enhanced savory notes. Chefs vouch for adding MSG to steaks or cooking rice with dashi to get that rich umami flavor. Yet don't underrate enhancing umami in vegetables, too — and an excellent starting place is corn. The sturdy vegetable is ready for a vibrant dressing, and fish sauce is the perfect complement. Corn's natural sugar content works beautifully to complement the tangy, salty, and savory flavors of the condiment. Simply brush on the sauce prior to cooking, and a wondrous transformation occurs; the corn and fish sauce meld into a result greater than the sum of its parts.

Furthermore, such a pairing creates an excellent starting point for other additions, too. You can easily involve some delicious garnishes, or take on a more striking approach with chili, citrus, and aromatics. Enhancing corn with umami opens new culinary doors, helping the classic vegetable shine.

For the uninitiated, cooking with fish sauce can feel intimidating. Due to its creation from fermented anchovies, the condiment smells strong, and is accordingly flavor-packed. Yet get used to its unique palate, and the advantages quickly become clear. Fish sauce is malleable, mingling well with a variety of flavors. Yet it forms an especially strong bond with sugar, hence why fish sauce and corn is such a strong combination.

As a result, you can use the canvas of corn and fish sauce to integrate a further range of flavors. You can add aromatics like sambal, lime, and garlic, taking the dish into a vibrant direction. Or lean into a more traditionally Vietnamese style by crafting a scallion oil with fish sauce, thereby showcasing a more fragrant and delicate side. And feel free to meld cuisines, perhaps combining mayo, peanuts, cilantro, lime, and fish sauce as an ode to street corn that's definitively Asian in flavor. Such is the power of this combo; it's a strong foundation that still allows for other ingredients to shine.