Fermented fish is a traditional form of preserved fish. Before refrigeration, canning, and other modern preservation techniques became available, fermenting was an important preservation method. Fish rapidly spoils, or goes rotten, unless some method is applied to stop the bacteria that produce the spoilage. Fermentation is a method which inhibits the ability of microbes to spoil fish. It does this by making the fish muscle more acidic; bacteria usually cease multiplying when the pH drops below 4.5.
A modern approach, biopreservation, adds lactic acid bacteria to the fish to be fermented. This produces active antimicrobials such as lactic and acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide, and bacteriocins. It can also produce the antimicrobial nisin, a particularly effective preservative.
Fermented fish preparations can be notable for their putrid smell. These days there are many other techniques of preserving fish, but fish is still fermented because some people enjoy the taste.
An archaeological find from 2016 provides evidence for fish fermentation dating back to 9,200 years ago.
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Risks
Alaska has witnessed a steady increase in cases of botulism since 1985. It has more cases of foodborne botulism than any other state in the United States of America. This is caused by the traditional Inuit/Yupik practice of allowing animal products such as whole fish, fish heads, walrus, sea lion, and whale flippers, beaver tails, seal oil, birds, etc., to ferment for an extended period of time before being consumed. The risk is exacerbated when a plastic container is used for this purpose instead of the old-fashioned, traditional method, a grass-lined hole, as the botulinum bacteria thrive in the anaerobic conditions created by the air-tight enclosure in plastic.
Preparations Name Image Country Notes Bagoong Philippines Partially or completely fermented fish or shrimps. Fish bagoong is prepared by mixing salt with fish, and placing it inside large earthen fermentation jars. There it is left to ferment for 30–90 days with occasional stirring to make sure the salt is spread evenly. A food colouring called angkak is added to give the bagoong its characteristic red or pink colour. Angkak is made from rice inoculated with a species of red mold (Monascus purpureus). Some manufacturers grind the fermented product finely and sell the resulting mixture as fish paste. A byproduct of the fermentation process is a fish sauce called patis.Bekasang IndonesiaFermented offal, or only stomach of tuna. Bottarga, poutargue, boutargue, botarga Mediterranean, Mauritania Bottarga is salted cured fish roe, typically of grey mullet frequently found near coastlines throughout the world. Burong isda PhilippinesA Filipino dish consisting of cooked rice and filleted fish fermented with salt and angkak (red yeast rice) for around a week. Chêpa Shũṭki Bengal, Bangladesh Literally "pressurized shũṭki" or "pressurized dried fish". Puti Fish are used to prepare Chepa Shutki. They are sun-dried for 12 to 14 days, then kept in a jute sack for one month, after which it is washed and placed in a pressurized earthenware pot for 3 to 4 months. Colombo cure Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh Fish are gutted, washed and salted together with dried fruit pulp or tamarind. The fish are kept covered in brine with the help of weighted mats and are fermented for 2 to 4 months. Dayok PhilippinesA Philippine condiment from the Visayas and Mindanao islands of the Philippines consisting of fish entrails (usually from yellowfin tuna), excluding the heart and bile sac, fermented in salt, various herbs, and sometimes pangasi (an indigenous rice wine). It has a sharp umami flavor and is used similarly to patis (Filipino fish sauce). Fesikh, fassikh, fassiekh, terkeen Egypt, Sudan Fermented, salted and dried gray mullet, of the mugil family, a saltwater fish that lives in both the Mediterranean and the Red Seas. The traditional process of preparing it is to dry the fish in the sun before preserving it in salt. The process of preparing fesikh is quite elaborate, passing from father to son in certain families. The occupation has a special name in Egypt, fasakhani. Fesikh is eaten during the Sham el-Nessim festival, which is a spring celebration from ancient times in Egypt. In Sudan species used are Alestes spp. and Hydrocynus spp. Processing time is 10 to 20 days. The products is packed in wooden boxes and also in used vegetable oil tins. In the case of terkeen the fermented fish is warmed up and stirred at the end of the processing period, resulting in a paste that includes small fish bones and has a taste resembling both liver pâté and anchovy paste. Both products are important ingredients (condiments) in Sudanese as well as in Egyptian cooking. Fish sauce Asia Clear light or dark brown liquid produced from salted fermented anchovies (Stolephorus sp.) or other fish or fishery products such as squid, shrimp and shellfish. The fermentation period is usually half a year or more, up to one and a half year (the longer the better). Local names are: Cambodia – teok trei; China – yu lu, xing tang, yee su; Indonesia – kecap ikan; Japan – ishiri, ishiru, shotssuru, ikanago; Korea – aekjeot; Lao – nam pla; Malaysia – budu; Myanmar – nganpya yay; Philippines – patis; Thailand – nam pla; Vietnam nuoc mam.