Next-Gen Salted Caramel

Fish sauce caramel is finding traction on the sweet side of the menu, where its flavor parallels salted caramel and miso caramel, creating a low-barrier entry for guests. Anchovies & Salt, a modern Vietnamese restaurant in Renton, Wash., offers a Fish Sauce Caramel Flan that surprises and delights with deep umami richness.

Meanwhile, Salt & Straw, a West Coast ice cream shop known for its bold flavor combinations, validated the flavor for broader appeal when it introduced a Fish Sauce Caramel with Palm Sugar Ice Cream as part of its fermented/umami series. The composition—molasses, Vietnamese fish sauce, palm sugar and lime zest—showcases the caramel’s versatility and crowd-pleasing potential when framed in a familiar format.

On social media, early adopters are linking fish sauce caramel to Vietnamese coffee culture, with viral builds like fish sauce caramel affogato, featuring Vietnamese coffee poured over vanilla or condensed-milk ice cream, then drizzled with the funky caramel. It’s a clear signal: The flavor is gaining traction and broader appeal thanks to the inroads made by both salted caramel and miso caramel, especially when tied to a cultural narrative that already resonates.

Flavors on the Edge is an ongoing series that explores emerging ingredients poised to become high-impact flavor builders.