1Central Research Laboratory of Nippon Suisan Kaisha Ltd., Tokyo 192-0906, 2Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, TheUniversity of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
A new type of fish sauce was prepared from two kinds of fish, Macruronus novaezelandiae and Thunnus maccoyi, and a squid Loligo bleekeri employing koji-mold, lactobacilli, and yeast which were adopted in soy sauce fermentation. During and after fermentation, chemical analyses were performed to determine pH, total nitrogen, reducing sugar, alcohol, and free amino acids. The sauces fermented for 6 months had a pH ranging from 4.8 to 5.0 which was the same as that of usual soy sauce. Total nitrogen content, however, ranged from 1.78 to 1.86% which was similar to that of traditional fish sauces (nuoc-mam). In terms of free amino acids, glutamic acid, alanine, leucine, and lysine increased during fermentation and were abundant in fish sauces. Sensory evaluation analysis proved that these fish sauces had a mellow taste and savory aroma without unpleasant smell in comparison with the traditional fish sauces.