Preserving the traditional soy sauce making craft.

Located on the outskirts of Viet Tri city, Tan Duc commune, formerly part of Doan Ket and Thanh Cong areas, Minh Nong ward, is not only known as a region with a large area of ​​safe vegetable cultivation in the city, but for many years, it has also been a center for soy sauce production, providing stable income for residents, contributing to poverty reduction, and changing the face of this suburban area.

Minh Nong ward currently has more than 20 households that have been making soy sauce for many years.

Walking along the winding concrete roads that crisscross the village, you can tell which houses have yards full of earthenware jars and pots that they make soy sauce. We stopped in front of a house with a spacious, airy courtyard where dozens of earthenware jars and pots were neatly arranged in rows under the gentle autumn sun. Just stepping through the gate, the sweet aroma of soy sauce was enough to awaken the taste and smell of these "unexpected" visitors like us.

While greeting us and continuously stirring the soy sauce in the jars, Mrs. Pham Thi Huong Giang, one of the long-time soy sauce makers here, shared: “The soy sauce making profession depends heavily on the weather. The sunnier the weather, the more fermented and fragrant the soy sauce becomes. Previously, soy sauce could only be made in the summer; in winter, without sunshine, it was very difficult to make and the soy sauce would easily spoil. Every day, we had to open the jars, stir well, and add water to the soy sauce. We would dry it in the sun and seal it tightly when it rained to prevent rainwater from getting in and spoiling the soy sauce.”

Soy sauce is an indispensable condiment in Vietnamese meals, especially in riverside villages where it's essential for preparing dishes with fish and shrimp caught from the river. Along with daily life, the craft of making soy sauce has existed here for nearly half a century, passed down from father to son, and is made manually, not mass-produced, thus preserving its delicious and rich flavor.

Previously, villagers mainly made soy sauce for their own daily needs and sold it in small quantities at local markets in the city. Word spread, and their soy sauce became increasingly well-known. The process of making soy sauce requires meticulous care, from selecting ingredients to fermenting and aging the sauce. Thanks to years of accumulated experience, households in the village have been able to produce soy sauce year-round while maintaining quality.

Currently, the two areas have more than 20 households making soy sauce, selling it at 40,000-45,000 VND/kg. On average, each household processes 5-7 tons of soy sauce annually, with the main markets being neighboring provinces and cities such as Vinh Phuc and Hanoi .

Recently, Minh Nong ward established and launched the Tan Duc Glutinous Rice Soy Sauce Cooperative, a stepping stone to development, expanding the market and affirming the Tan Duc soy sauce brand. The cooperative was established based on the linkage of local households with many years of experience in traditional glutinous rice soy sauce processing. It guarantees the purchase of 70-80% of the soy sauce production from its members, and for large, stable, long-term orders, the cooperative will sign contracts to supply safe, high-quality products with clear traceability.

Due to its unique characteristics, Tan Duc in the past had a very low average land area, so to make a living, the people were always resourceful and calculating, finding ways to suit the conditions of a suburban area with limited land and a large population. Thanks to the soy sauce making profession, people have gained additional income, creating diversity in the development of local economic activities, reducing the rate of poverty and near-poverty, and contributing to the transformation and development of the city at the confluence of three rivers.

Vy An

Source: https://baophutho.vn/giu-nghe-lam-tuong-218117.htm