Steamed fermented fish paste - A delicious dish typical of Southern Vietnam.

Fermented fish paste is a signature dish of the Southern Vietnamese countryside; there are many familiar types of fermented fish paste, and besides eating it raw or using it in hot pot dishes, steamed fermented fish paste is considered a rustic dish that is quite "appetizing" and goes well with rice at family meals.

Fish sauce is a product of the riverine region, especially during the flood season. Southern Vietnam has many rivers, lakes, canals, and streams... For every type of fish, there is a type of fish sauce. It's unknown when exactly, but the people of the riverine areas have only heard about it through word of mouth. Since their ancestors first settled and established villages, they have lived by fishing. When they caught too much fish to eat while fresh, the women and mothers devised ways to dry or make fish sauce to preserve it for longer.

And from then on, fish sauce became one of the traditional dishes bearing many hallmarks of the people of Southern Vietnam. Fish sauce can be used to prepare many dishes, such as: raw fish sauce, fried fish sauce, pure steamed fish sauce, braised fish sauce, fish sauce hotpot, steamed with pork belly, minced fish sauce steamed with meat and duck eggs... Among them, steamed fish sauce with meat or steamed with duck eggs is both easy to make and easy to eat; anyone can prepare it as long as they have the ingredients.

Steamed pork with fermented fish paste, cooked over a glowing fire, looks very appetizing.

If steaming with meat, chefs usually choose fermented snakehead fish paste, while for steaming with meat and duck eggs, they choose fermented catfish paste, carp paste, or tilapia paste... because these types of paste have a special aroma. Steamed fish paste with meat is quite simple; this dish is usually eaten with many kinds of wild vegetables, such as water lily flowers, chayote shoots, water spinach, water chives... along with a little banana blossom and a few chili peppers to enjoy. A meal with a few grilled snakehead fish, a plate of steamed fish paste with pork belly simmering over a smoky fire, and a plate of wild vegetables... Just looking at it makes you hungry!

A long-standing dish of the people of Southern Vietnam, steamed fermented fish paste with meat and duck eggs is easy to make. A delicious steamed fermented fish paste with duck eggs is a combination of the skill of the person making the paste and the culinary talent of the chef. Steamed fermented fish paste with meat and duck eggs has a distinctive aroma; just a whiff is enough to make you want to grab a bowl of hot rice to eat with it.

Fermented fish paste with pork and duck eggs is one of the delicious dishes typical of Southern Vietnam.

The most important ingredient for braised pork with duck eggs is the fish sauce itself, which must be of good quality. Besides that, other ingredients are needed: pork belly, duck eggs, scallions, and spices. Pork belly, with its mix of fat and lean meat, adds richness to the dish.

Nowadays, many chefs use food processors to grind the fish sauce instead of chopping it by hand like our mothers and grandmothers used to do. Therefore, to make a delicious bowl of steamed fish sauce, our mothers and grandmothers had to spend a lot of time and effort. Perhaps that's why, on days when there was steamed fish sauce, the meal tasted better than usual, and everyone kept asking for more rice.

After preparing all the ingredients, the mixture of fish sauce, minced meat, and duck eggs is thoroughly mixed with seasonings, placed in a large bowl or cup, and steamed. After about 30 minutes, when the fish sauce starts to release its fragrant aroma throughout the kitchen, the chef will brush on a layer of egg yolk to add color. Continue steaming for a few more minutes without covering the pot, as this would cause the egg yolk to lose its red color.

The steamed fish paste with pork and duck eggs dish by chef Thùy An, residing in Rạch Giá ward, is very popular with diners.

Eating steamed fish paste doesn't need to be fancy; simply a bowl of steamed fish paste, a bowl of hot rice, and a cucumber are enough. For a more appealing experience, people will add some side dishes like unripe bananas, pineapples, winged beans, etc.

Pick up a piece of unripe banana, sandwich it with a piece of steamed fish sauce, and slowly put it in your mouth. The rich, savory flavor of the fish sauce, the creamy richness of the meat and egg, the slightly bitter taste of the unripe banana, and the spicy chili pepper blend together in an incredibly appealing way.

Fermented fish paste, a rustic dish of the people of Southern Vietnam, has gradually made its way onto the family dinner tables of many other localities. Moreover, this simple dish has remained popular over the years, and is now served in many rural restaurants in urban areas.

But for many people born and raised in the riverine region, the steamed fish sauce from their hometown still holds a special flavor that no restaurant can replace.

That dish has accompanied the people of Southern Vietnam throughout their upbringing, and no matter how far they travel, they still fondly remember it. Because, in their memories, the image of their grandmother or mother meticulously chopping the fish sauce until it's very fine, so that when they cook it, the children won't choke on the bones.

Text and photos: THUY TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/mam-chung-mon-ngon-dam-chat-nam-bo-a425132.html