The secret to making delicious "tongue-aching" fish sauce from the people of Nghe An coastal village
(Baonghean.vn) - People of Quynh Di ward (Hoang Mai town, Nghe An) have a traditional profession of making delicious dried shrimp, famous throughout Nghe An, with a special, unique secret.
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| Coastal people here have a long-standing profession of hunting clams to make crab sauce. Photo: Viet Hung |
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| Mussels are a species of crab family, living in concentrated areas of mangrove rivers in coastal communes. Mussels' growing season is from June to September. Photo: Viet Hung |
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| When the tide in the mangrove rivers goes down, people gather to catch clams, using fishing rods. On average, each person catches 5 - 10 kg of clams per session. Photo: Viet Hung |
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| The clams are brought back, washed, drained, then the shells are separated, and the roe is removed into a bowl before being processed into floss. Photo: Viet Hung. |
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| The clam claws are separated and the hard edges are cut off to make it easier to grind. Photo: Viet Hung. |
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Ms. Nguyen Thi Minh, a fish sauce maker in Quynh Di, said: "Caught fish are processed into fish sauce with a very simple recipe, but whether it is delicious or not depends on each person's secret; just missing a little salt or a little fish sauce will ruin the delicious taste." Photo: Viet Hung |
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| . Once the entire body of the clam is separated, the important step is to pound it. Currently, most households use a machine to grind it. According to people, when the clam is mashed, scoop it into a basin, for every 1 kg of clam, add about 100 grams (100g) of salt, mix well, then seal it, and leave it for about 2-3 days. After finishing the incubation, let the meat and liquid settle, separate the residue, and continue to dry it outdoors for 3 months to ripen. Photo: Viet Hung |
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| According to local people, to have a delicious fish sauce with a strong salty taste of the sea, the fish sauce must be dried outdoors. Processed purely, without mixing with rice powder or yeast, Quynh Di fish sauce has a unique flavor. Quynh Di currently has about 20 households working in hunting and processing fish sauce. Currently, 1 kg of fish sauce is sold for 250,000 VND. Although this is not the main profession, it helps people have extra income, from 3 - 5 million VND/household/month. Photo: Viet Hung |
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| Fish sauce is used as a dip for boiled sweet potato leaves and eaten with hot rice; when mixing fish sauce, depending on taste, add sugar, lemon, and chili. The fish sauce then has a salty, strong, aromatic flavor mixed with a little sourness of lemon, awakening the tingling sensation on the tip of the tongue thanks to garlic and chili... really attractive. Photo: Viet Hung. |
