From being used as key ingredients for soups and stews to dipping sauces mixed with chopped chilis, there isn’t a more perfect trifecta of sauces for Filipino cooking than patis (fish sauce), toyo (soy sauce), and suka (vinegar)
Whether you prefer buying in bulk or you can survive with just one bottle, learning how to properly store them so that they last a long time and they do not lose their flavor is important for any home kitchen.
The best part? The same storage method helps preserve the complex flavors of all three—and extends their shelf life, too!
A Cool and Dark Place is All You Need
My personal favorite sauce is in the humble toyomansi. Every time I want to make some, all I have to do is go to our sauce cabinet and grab whatever opened bottle we have available. That’s how easy it is to store it for a long time without losing its umami goodness. This is also the case for fish sauce and vinegar.
It’s perfectly sufficient to leave your bottles of sauce in a cabinet, open shelf, or any cool and dark place, regardless if it’s new or has already been opened. If you’ve been using its original packaging, just make sure it is tightly sealed. If you are transferring it to a different container, use a clean and dry one to avoid any contamination.
A good rule of thumb is to read if there are any specific instructions on the label regarding when it is still safe to eat and if there are any other recommendations on how to properly store it. An example of this would be if ever you purchased an artisanal soy sauce bottle, then it might be a good idea to store them in the fridge.
The Secret is in the Sauces
There is a simple reason as to why fish sauce, soy sauce and vinegar don’t necessarily need to be refrigerated. It’s all thanks to salt and acid! For fish sauce and soy sauce, it is due to their high salt content. For vinegar, it’s because it is about 4% acid. Aside from increasing the sodium content, salting a food is a very common way to preserve them because it absorbs all the water that would have been a breeding ground for bacteria, so having high acid content has a similar effect, acting as a natural preservative. This is why vinegar is known for having an indefinite shelf life.
So when do you put them in the fridge?
There are some exceptions to storing them inside the refrigerator worth taking note of. The first one only applies if you foresee needing to store your bottle of fish sauce for more than one year. You can either place the bottle in your fridge or transfer it to a clean, sealed container. And whenever you need to get some, make sure to use an unused, dry utensil.
This is to make sure you don’t add any foreign substance into the fish sauce that would make it spoil faster. The second exception is if you wish to preserve the state of your sauce. Leaving these sauces out for a long period of time obviously makes them susceptible to change, and this is not a bad thing! Over time, their depth and flavor just becomes even more complex from how they tasted when you first bought them.
But at any point, if ever you want to preserve a specific version of your sauce, putting it in the refrigerator is also perfectly fine. Keeping it there will help it maintain its color and slow down any potential changes to its flavor profile.
The simplicity of how to make these three essential sauces last can be a great jumping off point for anyone who wishes to cook more Filipino food. They will always be there for you in your pantry whenever you need them, so return the favor and store them properly for a long-lasting partnership of flavors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Patis is Filipino sauce with a clear, amber-colored liquid made from fermented fish and salt that adds a deep savory and umami flavor to any stew or sawsawan.
Toyo or Filipino soy sauce is made from soybeans, water, salt, caramel color, and sometimes wheat. Because of its intensely savory and sharper salty flavor, toyo is used in the marinades, stir-fries, and braises of some of the most well known Filipino dishes including adobo, bistek, and pancit bihon.
Traditional Filipino spiced vinegar uses a base of cane or coconut vinegar combined with fresh aromatics and hot peppers. Commonly used as a staple cooking ingredient or a dipping sauce.
The best way to store patis, toyo, and suka is to leave them in a cool, dry, and dark place like a cabinet or an open shelf. Just make sure they are sealed properly and stored in either their original bottles or in clean, tightly-sealed containers.
Refrigeration is completely fine but not required. It does have a benefit of slowing down their aging, thus keeping the flavor profile the same.
