The craft of making fish sauce is elaborate, isn't it?

In the ancient fishing village of Man Thai, where only a few households still cling to the traditional craft of making fish sauce, Mr. Huynh Van Muoi (Son Tra district) still works hard every day beside the jars of fish sauce with the strong aroma of the sea. For him, fish sauce is not only a means of livelihood, but also a part of the soul of his hometown, a specialty that has been associated with the culture of the fishing village for generations.

1. Uncle Muoi said, the word “nhi” in “mam nhi” actually comes from the word “ri”. In the past, fish sauce was stored in earthen jars. After a long time under the sun and wind, the jars cracked, and the fish sauce inside leaked out drop by drop. People in the fishing village of Man Thai regretted that quintessential essence, so they used cups to catch it. Later, to store more fish sauce, earthenware jars, cement pots, or large oak barrels gradually appeared. But the larger the jar, the more difficult it was to tilt and pour out the fish sauce or rinse it, so people drilled a small hole near the bottom of the jar - called a lu hole - both for cleaning and to help the fish sauce flow out easily. The fish sauce flowed out from there, dripping (dripping) drop by drop, so it was called “mam nhi”. From “ri” came “nhi”. Over time, the word “ri” was gradually forgotten, leaving only the familiar name “mam nhi” as it is today.

Mr. Muoi explains to students about the fish sauce making profession of Man Thai fishermen. Photo: Document

Many people think that “nhi” is a tilde because they mistakenly think that “mắm nhi” and “mắm nhi” are the same, but in fact there is a difference between them. Fish sauce flows naturally through the hole at the bottom of the jar without intervention, so the people of Man Thai fishing village rely on that characteristic to name the type of fish sauce they make “mắm nhi”. Meanwhile, “mắm nhi” or also known as filtered fish sauce goes through a separate filtering process. People use a bamboo funnel, line it with a cloth on top, then pour the fish sauce in, each drop of fish sauce is filtered and absorbed through that membrane. It is because of the filter membrane - like the eardrum in the ear - that it is called “mắm nhi”.

Nowadays, few people remember the origin of the name "mam nhi", but for long-time fish sauce makers like Uncle Muoi, each drop of mam nhi carries a long story of the hometown fish sauce salting profession.

2. “There are many types of fish that can be salted to make fish sauce, but they are not as delicious when salted as anchovies,” Uncle Muoi affirmed. From mackerel, mackerel, tuna or red anchovies, striped anchovies... but like our ancestors for thousands of years, they have summarized many folk songs, proverbs, and idioms to refer to the matter of compatibility, this must go together with that to be called standard, to be correct.

Many people who eat fish sauce made from mackerel and scad are allergic; mackerel is expensive so few people use it for salting; red anchovies or striped anchovies have tough, slow-rotting meat, so they are more suitable for quick-rotting fish sauce; whole anchovies, used to make fish sauce, are not as fragrant and salty. Compared to that, although they are of the same family as anchovies, anchovies rot quickly, have a lot of meat, are soft, and when fermented, produce fish sauce with a light taste and a natural sweet aftertaste, so they are "chosen" for salting fish sauce. In particular, for Uncle Muoi as well as for the people in Man Thai fishing village, anchovies for salting must be fresh fish harvested in March and April - when the fish are fat, have a lot of eggs, and the meat is most nutritious.

According to Uncle Muoi's experience, fresh fish just caught, no need to wash, just put in the jar, salt immediately at the ratio of 3 fish 1 salt to keep the full salty taste of the sea, must be fermented for at least 12 months to produce fish sauce. Any fish sauce that is not fragrant after 12 months is not produced. How to know? From the eyes to the color to the smell, taste.

If you pour the fish sauce out in a rush, the quality will not be guaranteed, and if it is not kept for a long enough period, it will have a fishy smell. After 1-2 months, the fish will start to rot, at this time, open the jar and stir. Stir every day, regularly for 12 months. The more sunlight, the better and more fragrant the fish sauce. There are many types of fragrance, the eater and buyer may find it fragrant, but in the eyes of professionals, it may not be satisfactory. If after 12 months the fish sauce does not meet the requirements, people will continue to ferment for another 3 months.

The fermented fish sauce is produced more slowly than the filtered fish sauce, because it retains almost all the residue (solids) of the fish and salt. Thanks to that, the color will be clearer, more fragrant, and the nutritional content of the fish sauce will be higher. On average, 1 liter of filtered fish sauce can be obtained in 1 hour, but it takes 20-48 hours to produce the same number of liters of fermented fish sauce, and the ratio is only 1/3 of the initial amount of kg of fish and salt. 10 kg of fish can produce about 2.5 liters of fermented fish sauce, while if using filtered fish sauce, this number can be up to 4 liters.

Mam nhi is in the same family as shrimp paste, fish sauce, instant sauce, sweet and sour sauce... Uncle Muoi calls them all fish sauce because they are made literally from fish and salt.

3. Not only knowledgeable about fish sauce, Mr. Huynh Van Muoi is also the one who preserves and tells stories about the sea and the ancient fishing village through souvenirs. Man Thai - two simple words but containing within them the faith and life of a child born by the sea like him. From the engine that the Father bought to install on the boat, to this day still has intact documents with an age of nearly 60 years. Or the earthen jars over 100 years old, the fish sauce basket, the chopsticks... all are cherished by him like treasures, quietly telling about a time at sea full of hardship but also full of pride.

And the memories of the ancient fishing village of Man Thai are constantly spread by Uncle Muoi to those who want to listen to the story of the sea, through the display of items and models of the fishing culture bearing the imprint of local history that he cherishes and preserves.

THU HUONG

Source: https://baodanang.vn/channel/5433/202505/cong-phu-nghe-lam-mam-nhi-4006286/