Fish sauce are made with anchovies, mackerel, scabbard fish and salt. The bigger the fish, the more mercury you might expect, especially if predator fish like scabbard fish. They do not have any additives like sugar, hydrolyzed protein, or preservatives. Vietnamese prefer sauces without a strong smell, and transparent with a deep golden amber color. "First press" fish sauce, meaning the sauce is bottled from the first time the fermenting barrels are drained, also indicates quality. Lastly, when measuring the nitrogen level of fish sauces (N), most fish sauce on the market falls within the mid 20N range. Anything over 30N is
Indonesian cuisine water fishes and seafood as ingredients. "Ikan brengkes" is fish in a spicy durian-based sauce. "Tempoyak" is a sauce of shrimp paste, lime juice, chilli and fermented durian, and "sambal buah" is a chili sauce made from fruit. Manado cuisine of Minahasan people from North Sulawesi features the heavy use of meat such as pork, fowl, and seafood. "Woku" is a type of seafood dish with generous use of spices, often making up half the dish. The ingredients include lemongrass, lime leaves, chili peppers, spring onion, shallots, either sautéed with meat or wrapped around fish and grilled covered in banana