Abstract:Sea fish was used as raw material in four fast fermentation processes, including enzymatically hydrolyzed fish with a mixture of soybean meal and koji (E-SFS), enzymatically hydrolyzed fish with a mixture of peanut meal and koji (E-PFS), whole fish with a mixture of soybean meal and koji (SFS), and whole fish with a mixture of peanut meal and koji (PFS). The effects of the different processes on the non-volatile components and sensory properties of fish sauce were investigated. The results showed that the contents of non-salt soluble solids, total nitrogen, and crude fat were significantly different（p < 0.05）among the four samples, with the values being in the following order: E-SFS > E-PFS > PFS > SFS. The content of total nitrogen in all samples met the first-grade requirement for commercial fish sauce. Analysis of free amino acids (FAAs) showed that the highest amount of total FAAs was found in E-SFS, the highest proportion of umami FAAs was found in E-SFS and E-PFS, and the highest proportion of bitter FAAs was found in in SFS and PFS. The sensory quality of the samples was closely related to the interactions among the non-volatile components of each substance. The sensory evaluation revealed that E-SFS had the strongest umami flavor, while PFS exhibited the strongest fishy smell, but with the highest overall acceptability.
