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Salted Fish substitute

Best substitute

Dried Anchovies (Ikan Bilis)

Use the same amount by volume, fried in oil first as the salted fish you are replacing

Best for salted fish fried rice

Close match

Salted fish is a seasoning rather than a protein: it supplies concentrated salt plus a pungent fishy umami. Dried anchovies, ikan bilis, are the closest swap at 1:1 by volume, fried first. Anchovy fillets in oil work at about one fillet or 1/2 teaspoon of anchovy paste per tablespoon of minced salted fish. Fish sauce covers the flavour with no texture at 1 to 1.5 teaspoons per tablespoon. In every case, do not add the recipe's salt until you have tasted the finished dish.

Other salted fish substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Salted Fish with ratios

  1. 2Anchovy Fillets in Oil or Anchovy Paste

    Different texture

    Use 1 fillet or ½ tsp paste for every 1 tbsp minced salted fish

    The supermarket answer, and a genuinely effective one for the flavour if not the texture.

    What changes
    Best for
    stir-fried greens, braises, sambal, pasta-style sauces, marinades

    Salt-cured anchovies deliver a very similar salt-and-umami hit and melt into hot oil in seconds, so the savoury base of the dish lands close to right. What changes is dry funk and bite: there are no crisp salty shards, and the flavour is rounder, oilier and slightly more Mediterranean than the sharp sun-dried pungency of ikan masin. Add them early so they dissolve, and skip the recipe's salt entirely.

  2. 3Shrimp Paste (Belacan), Toasted

    Taste and texture differ

    Use ½ tsp toasted belacan for every 1 tbsp minced salted fish

    Fermented shrimp paste, the other great salty-funky building block of Malay cooking.

    What changes
    Best for
    sambal, stir-fried water spinach, vegetable dishes, rice dishes

    Deeper and more pungent than salted fish and probably already in your kitchen if you cook Malay food. The change is which animal you can taste: the dish becomes shrimpy and fermented rather than fishy and sun-dried, which is wonderful in a sambal and slightly off in a dish where crisp fish pieces are the point. Toast it in a dry pan or wrapped in foil for a minute first to take the raw edge off.

  3. 4Salt Cod (Bacalao), Soaked

    Different taste

    Use the same amount by weight after soaking

    The European salt-cured fish, which is closer in form than anything else on this list.

    What changes
    Best for
    stir-fries, rice dishes, fritters, braises with vegetables

    The texture match is genuinely good, since soaked salt cod flakes into firm savoury pieces much like rehydrated ikan masin, and it fries up nicely. What is missing is the funk: salt cod is cured and dried but not sun-fermented in the same way, so it tastes clean and salty rather than pungent. Soak it as the package directs, and add a few drops of fish sauce to restore some of the depth.

  4. 5Fish Sauce

    Different texture

    Use 1 to 1.5 tsp for every 1 tbsp minced salted fish

    Pure liquid salt and fermented fish umami, with nothing to chew on.

    What changes
    Best for
    stir-fries, fried rice, soups, dressings, when speed matters

    This gets the savoury note broadly right and takes no preparation, which makes it the practical weeknight answer. The whole texture contribution disappears though, so a salted fish fried rice made with fish sauce tastes correct but has no crisp salty shards running through it, and it seasons the dish evenly rather than in bursts. Add it near the end of cooking and use no other salt at all.

  5. 6Salt Plus a Pinch of MSG or Dashi Powder

    Taste and texture differ

    Use ¼ tsp salt + a pinch of MSG or ¼ tsp dashi powder for every 1 tbsp salted fish

    The honest least-good option, for when there is no cured fish of any kind in the house.

    What changes
    Best for
    emergencies, soups, simple stir-fries

    It supplies salinity and a general savouriness and that is the limit of what it can do. In a dish where salted fish is one salty note among many, such as a mixed vegetable stir-fry, you will get an acceptable result. In salted fish fried rice you will get fried rice, because the crisp pungent fish is the dish rather than a seasoning in it, so consider making a different fried rice instead.

What is Salted Fish?

Salted Fish is Salted fish is fish, most often mackerel, threadfin or kurau, that has been heavily salted and sun-dried until firm and intensely savoury, sold as ikan masin in Malaysia and Indonesia and as ikan kayu when it is dried hard enough to shred.

Cooking tips

  • Soak hard salted fish in cool water for fifteen to thirty minutes and pat it thoroughly dry before cooking, which pulls out a good deal of surface salt and softens it enough to slice. Some cooks soak in milk instead, which mellows the smell as well. Skip the soak only if your fish is the soft, lightly cured belly kind.
  • Fry it in a little oil until it turns golden and smells nutty, then lift it out and use that oil for the rest of the dish. The flavoured oil is half the point of cooking with salted fish, and it is what carries the flavour through a whole plate of fried rice or a wok of greens.
  • Never salt the dish until the salted fish is in and you have tasted. This is the single most common failure, because a tablespoon of minced ikan masin can carry more salt than a teaspoon of table salt, and there is no way to take it out afterwards.
  • Buy the right cut for the job. Boneless belly pieces are soft and best for stir-fries and steamed dishes, the hard block sold as ikan kayu is for shredding and pounding into sambal or serunding, and small whole fish need their heads and bones removed unless you are deep-frying them to a crisp.
  • Store it double-wrapped in the freezer, not the cupboard. Salted fish keeps for months but the oils go rancid at room temperature and the smell travels through an entire fridge, so a sealed bag inside a sealed container is worth the trouble.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave salted fish out?

It depends on whether it is a seasoning or the star. In a mixed vegetable stir-fry or a curry where it adds background savouriness, you can leave it out and add a teaspoon of fish sauce or a little extra salt, and the dish will be fine. In salted fish fried rice, salted fish with chilli, or a Nyonya dish named after it, the pungent crisp fish is the reason the dish exists, so a substitute is a better plan than an omission.

Do I have to soak salted fish before cooking?

For hard, heavily cured pieces, yes, fifteen to thirty minutes in water. For the softer, lightly cured belly cuts, a rinse is enough. If you are pounding it into a sambal that will be balanced with sugar, tamarind and chilli, you may want to skip the soak and keep the intensity, since the other ingredients will carry it.

Is salted fish the same as salt cod?

They are the same idea from different kitchens, and salt cod is a reasonable substitute. The difference is that Southeast Asian ikan masin is usually sun-dried in a warm climate, which develops a pungent, faintly fermented aroma, while salt cod is cured to be clean and mild. So salt cod matches the texture and the salt but not the funk, and a few drops of fish sauce help close the gap.

Can I use canned anchovies in place of salted fish?

Yes, and it is one of the better easy swaps, at roughly one fillet per tablespoon of minced salted fish. They dissolve into hot oil rather than staying in pieces, so use them where the savoury flavour matters and not where you want crisp bits. Drain off the packing oil and do not add any other salt to the dish.

Why did my dish come out unbearably salty?

Almost always because salt or soy sauce went in before the salted fish, or because a hard-cured piece went in unsoaked. Next time soak it, cook the dish through, then taste before seasoning. To rescue the current dish, add more of the bulk ingredient, a squeeze of lime and a little sugar, and serve it with plenty of plain rice, which is how it is eaten anyway.

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