The idea of creating the first Quebec-made fish sauce was born in 2014, when Anh and Tien (Jim) Nguyen, the couple behind UMAM, were traveling through the Maritimes. Seeing fish being wasted, trapped in the turbines of a hydroelectric dam in New Brunswick, Anh exclaimed: “Back home, we’d make fish sauce out of all that!”

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And that’s how the project was born.

Anh Nguyen et Jim - cofondateurs UMAM sauce poisson

Because in Vietnam, where Anh and Tien are originally from, fish sauce is a staple ingredient of the cuisine, and since Quebec has also become home since they immigrated here in the late 1970s, they set out to create a sauce rooted in Vietnamese tradition, yet proudly Quebecer in its identity.

Capelan du Fleuve Saint-Laurent - UMAM sauce poisson

After years of testing and experimenting with different local fish species (a completely uncharted field for food researchers here), they chose capelin.

Pêcherie Charlevoix - Pêche à la fascine - Partenaire UMAM sauce poisson

Capelin is unlike any other species, as it gives the sauce exceptional flavors while being caught using an ancestral, artisanal, and sustainable method: weir fishing.

Learn more about weir fishing

Traditional Vietnamese know-how

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Quebec’s unique resources

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Anh and Tien (Jim) took on the innovative challenge never before explored in Quebec. Their fish sauce is the first of its kind, and it’s already becoming a must-have for food lovers of all kinds, from the most traditional to the most adventurous.

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