Coming to the source land of An Phu, Thoi Son ( An Giang province ) this season, it is not difficult to find familiar scents. In the wind of the rainy season, there is a faint scent of someone cooking fish sauce.
Mr. Nguyen Van Hai's house (residing in Thoi Son ward, An Giang province) has dozens of barrels of salted fish in a large yard.
These fish were kept since the end of the previous year's flood season and are now being cooked. In fact, the fish have been "bathing" in salt for almost a year, the salty taste permeating every fiber of their flesh.
The fermented fish will be put on the stove to cook for more than 2 hours. During this time, the cook must watch the fire and regulate the appropriate temperature to keep the delicious taste of the fish sauce.
This large pot, containing about 100 liters of water, is an indispensable tool for "professional" fish sauce cooks like Mr. Hai.
The salted fish water is then poured onto a cloth to filter the clear water. It takes about 4 hours to filter a pot of fish water. This is the most time-consuming step, so Mr. Hai has to spend about 3 days to cook a batch of fish sauce with 2 barrels of fermented fish.
The drops of water mixed with salt and the flesh of freshwater fish give off a fragrant aroma at noon. People passing by Mr. Hai’s house are always filled with the unique scent. After each cooking session, he hires someone to wash the sieve cloth and scrub the utensils to ensure hygiene, ready for the next cooking session.
After being cooked for the second time, the fish sauce will be put into cowhide palanquins and dried in the sun for months. Mr. Hai said that only palanquins can absorb sunlight, making the fish sauce more delicious. Plastic drums are absolutely not used to store the fish sauce, partly because of the bad smell and partly because it is not safe for consumers' health.
The finished fish sauce will be put into 1-liter bottles, priced at 40,000 VND/liter for the first grade, 20,000 VND/liter for the second grade. Many customers try it and then come back to buy more. Some people order several hundred liters, but Mr. Hai, being old, cannot afford it and has to refuse.
“Among my children, one will probably take over the profession, just like I took over my grandmother’s. While I am still healthy, I will try to stick with the traditional profession of my homeland. I just hope that people will not forget the taste of fish sauce made by our ancestors in the past,” Mr. Hai shared.
Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/man-moi-vi-nuoc-mam-dong-a464394.html
Comment (0)