Fish Sauce is very salty! Beware when you buy it
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
Eugene, Oregon
February 12, 2016 9:50am CST
I wanted to make Broccoli and beef last night since we had a nice piece of steak in the freezer and bought broccoli at Trader Joe’s this week. I searched for recipes and came up with some dreadful ones, including one that used canned Cream of Broccoli soup. Yuk!
But, I did find one on a site created by a former chef who now cooks for her family and shares recipes on Once upon a Chef. Maybe if I had not substituted fish sauce for oyster sauce, it would have been okay, but I had no oyster sauce. It seemed like a good idea at the time. The recipe was great, the beef was tender, and the broccoli was done nicely. But the sauce, which called for oyster sauce (not fish sauce) was horribly salty. I belatedly looked at my bottle of Red Boat sauce and discovered that contained 1467 mg. of sodium, 67% of our daily requirement. It tasted far too salty, so we discarded the leftover sauce and kept the beef and broccoli.
We like Beef Broccoli a lot, but I looked up Oyster Sauce and see that is has just as much sodium. Maybe I will have to just use my low sodium soy sauce next time.
Do you ever make Beef Broccoli at home?
14 people like this
14 responses
@celticeagle (159222)
• Boise, Idaho
12 Feb 16
Never made it. I don't care for oyster sauce either. I like meat separate.
3 people like this
@celticeagle (159222)
• Boise, Idaho
13 Feb 16
@mommaj ...Ugh! That must have gotten a laugh.
1 person likes this
@mommaj (23112)
• United States
13 Feb 16
@celticeagle Yeah, the doctor's eyes got really big. Not sure what he thought. LOL
1 person likes this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
12 Feb 16
I haven't ever made that. But I love both. I made Cream of Broccoli soup last night, it was pretty good but I have had better lol.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
12 Feb 16
Cream of Broccoli soup would be great, but it sounds like a bad thing to put into your Beef Broccoli somehow. That recipe I mentioned called for canned soup too.
1 person likes this
@mommaj (23112)
• United States
13 Feb 16
@fishtiger58 I know it wasn't the cook so it was probably the ingredients. Besides, doesn't it always taste better when someone else makes it. LOL
2 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29823)
• Momence, Illinois
13 Feb 16
@mommaj I think it always tastes better when someone else makes it, exactly right.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45939)
• United States
12 Feb 16
My sister gave me a recipe for beef and broccoli that uses lower sodium soy sauce. It is really quite delicious. Well, I liked it, hubby wasn't completely happy with it.
1 person likes this
@ElusiveButterfly (45939)
• United States
13 Feb 16
@JamesHxstatic check the label. Some say lower sodium, some are lower than others. I am a fanatic when it comes to label reading.
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Feb 16
The lower sodium is the only kind to use, I think.
1 person likes this
@mommaj (23112)
• United States
13 Feb 16
I love beef and broccoli. Tonight it was just broccoli and cheese. LOL The sauces usually have too much salt so I will either use half and substitute juices for the remainder or water. My favorite beef and broccoli is fro our local Chinese restaurant where my friend and I will eat. We will always buy two different meals and eat off of each other's plates. 
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Feb 16
That is a good way to go with Chinese food.
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
12 Feb 16
hm, i guess most recipes that call for the fish sauce don't call for tons? i use it only in my thai curry sauces. i'm finding that a lot of the things that call for cream of whatever soups can be so easily subbed just using something else like milk or cream and then either something to thicken it or not, depending on the recipe. i made a tuna casserole the other night that turned out quite tasty... maybe i 'll write a post about it.
1 person likes this
@jillybean1222 (6408)
•
13 Feb 16
@JamesHxstatic that sounds like a lot of fish sauce!
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Feb 16
Good idea. This recipe called for a quarter cup as I recall. We never use any cream in cooking anymore.
1 person likes this
@TheHorse (206020)
• Walnut Creek, California
13 Feb 16
@JamesHxstatic Soy sauce is salty too. Maybe add a touch of olive oil?
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Feb 16
Less sauce or take out would be good for certain.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
12 Feb 16
Broccoli is probably my actual favorite vegetable, but too much salt in a diet is not a good thing.
@LadyDuck (458494)
• Switzerland
12 Feb 16
@JamesHxstatic I use a little bit of soy sauce that I pour when it's ready, never while it's cooking.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
12 Feb 16
@LadyDuck what kind of sauce do you use in your stir fry?
1 person likes this
@DeborahDiane (40058)
• Laguna Woods, California
13 Feb 16
My husband has to be on a very low sodium diet, so that sauce would never work for us. Believe it or not, because of his kidney disease, he also cannot eat beef or broccoli. He has to stick with plain chicken, plain turkey, plain fish accompanied by rice, pasta and a few simple, plain vegetables like corn, green beans and peas. It is a pretty bland diet, but it has extended it life, so it is worth it.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
13 Feb 16
@DeborahDiane, I am glad to hear that diet helps him to stay alive. That is well worth it.
@Ladypeace (2028)
• Singapore
12 Feb 16
No...wait...don't throw away your fish sauce...yet. People in South East Asia mix lime juice, sugar, fish sauce, chopped garlic, sliced red chilies, coriander and diced shallots to make a lovely dipping sauce to accompany savory entrees.
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29256)
• Eugene, Oregon
12 Feb 16
Wow, you are making sound really good! Perhaps the additional ingredients make it less salty.
1 person likes this
@Ladypeace (2028)
• Singapore
12 Feb 16
@JamesHxstatic Yes, you actually put in more lime juice than fish sauce. Sugar balances it out. Fish sauce can be found in every Vietnamese household, it's like soy sauce to the Chinese.
1 person likes this
