A light, quickly made stock from the bones and heads of white fish with aromatics and often white wine. It simmers for 20 to 30 minutes — any longer and it turns bitter.
What it does in a recipe: Delicate marine base for chowders, bouillabaisse and seafood risotto. Pick the swap that covers that job — the ratios below are written so you can act on them without doing any arithmetic.
Also called: Fumet, Fish fumet
4substitutes
1close matches
Broths & stockscategory
Quick answer
Clam juice (bottled)
1 cup fish stock = 1 cup bottled clam juice, or 3/4 cup clam juice + 1/4 cup water if it tastes very strong
All substitutes, best first
4 ways to replace fish stock
Clam juice (bottled)
Closest match
1 cup fish stock = 1 cup bottled clam juice, or 3/4 cup clam juice + 1/4 cup water if it tastes very strong
Clam juice is the strained liquor from steamed clams, so it carries a concentrated marine salinity that stands in directly for a fish fumet's job in a chowder.
Trade-offSaltier and more sharply briny than fumet, and it lacks the gelatin that fish bones give.
CookingSaucesDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free
Allergen checkClam juice is shellfish, so it swaps a fish allergen for a shellfish one — a critical distinction, since the two allergies are separate and someone may react to one and not the other. Never assume; ask, and read the bottle.
Shrimp or shellfish stock
Reliable
1 cup fish stock = 1 cup shellfish stock made from simmered shrimp shells
Shells simmered for 20 minutes give up a sweet, deeply marine flavour that suits every dish fish stock is used in, and often with more character.
MethodRoast or fry the shells briefly before adding water; it deepens the colour and the flavour considerably.
Trade-offSweeter, pinker and more assertive than a clean white fumet.
CookingSaucesDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free
Allergen checkCrustacean shellfish is one of the most frequent causes of severe allergic reaction, and it is a different allergen from fish. Do not offer this to anyone with a shellfish allergy, and check any commercial stock for shellfish extracts.
Dashi
Reliable
1 cup fish stock = 1 cup dashi
Dashi is kombu and dried bonito steeped briefly, giving a clean marine savour built on glutamate and inosinate — different in flavour from fumet but doing precisely the same work.
Trade-offSmokier and more distinctly Japanese in character, which can sit oddly in a French or Italian seafood dish.
CookingSaucesDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-free
Allergen checkBonito-based dashi is dried fish and carries the fish allergen, exactly as fish stock does. Instant dashi granules also commonly contain soy and wheat. Kombu-only dashi avoids the fish but is a different flavour; check the packet either way.
Chicken broth + a strip of kombu
Reliable
1 cup fish stock = 1 cup light chicken broth steeped 15 minutes with a 2-inch strip of kombu
Chicken broth supplies the body and gelatin, and the kombu adds the glutamate-rich marine note, which together approximate a fumet without any fish going into the pot.
MethodSteep the kombu below a simmer — boiling it turns the broth slimy and faintly bitter.
Trade-offRounder and less bright than fish stock, and clearly poultry underneath if you taste for it.
CookingSaucesDairy-freeEgg-freeNut-freeSoy-free
Allergen checkThis is the sensible route when the fish is what you are avoiding, since it introduces no fish or shellfish. It is not vegetarian, and a fish allergy severe enough to matter is a medical question — check that the kombu was not processed alongside seafood.
Worth knowing
Fish stock is neither vegetarian nor vegan, and it carries the fish allergen. It also does not improve with long cooking — 30 minutes is the outside limit before the bones start giving up bitterness.
Cooking around an allergy? Diet tags here describe the ingredient itself, not any particular brand. Processed products change formulation without notice and shared production lines are common, so read the label on everything you use. A severe allergy is a medical matter — confirm with the manufacturer or your clinician rather than relying on a substitution chart.