The savory taste of fish sauce from the countryside.

Through the diligent hands of the villagers, fish sauce made from freshwater fish carries within it a savory, authentic taste, just like the place where it originates. Therefore, many people still long to return to freshwater fish sauce, to experience the flavor distilled from the fertile alluvial soil of the delta.

Visiting the upstream areas of An Phu and Thoi Son ( An Giang province ) this season, it's not difficult to find a familiar scent. In the gentle breeze of the flooded fields, you can faintly smell the aroma of someone making fish sauce from freshwater fish.

Mr. Nguyen Van Hai's house (residing in Thoi Son ward, An Giang province) has a spacious yard filled with dozens of barrels of salted fish.

These fish were marinated since the end of last year's flood season and are only now being cooked. In total, the fish have been "bathed" in salt for almost a year, the salty flavor permeating every fiber of their flesh.

The fermented fish will be cooked on the stove for over two hours. During this time, the cook must carefully monitor the fire and adjust the temperature to preserve the delicious flavor of the fish sauce.

This large pot, holding about 100 liters of water, is an indispensable tool for "professional" fish sauce makers like Mr. Hai.

After the salted fish broth is cooked, it is poured onto a sieve to filter out the clear liquid. It takes about 4 more hours to filter one pot of fish broth. This is the most time-consuming step, so Mr. Hai has to spend about 3 days to make one batch of fish sauce with 2 barrels of fermented fish.

The mixture of salt and the flavor of freshwater fish fills the air with a rich aroma at midday. Passersby passing by Mr. Hai's house are captivated by this unique scent. After each batch of cooking, he hires someone to wash the strainer cloth and scrub the utensils to ensure hygiene, ready for the next cooking session.

After being cooked a second time, the fish sauce is placed in large earthenware jars and left to dry in the sun for months. Mr. Hai explained that only these jars can absorb sunlight, making the fish sauce even more fragrant and delicious. He absolutely refuses to use plastic drums for storage, partly because of the foul odor and partly because they are unsafe for consumers' health.

The finished fish sauce is bottled in 1-liter containers, selling for 40,000 VND/liter for the best quality and 20,000 VND/liter for the second quality. Many customers try it and then come back to buy more. Some people order several hundred liters, but due to his advanced age, Mr. Hai cannot handle it and has to refuse.

"Among my children, I'm sure some will follow in my footsteps, just like I did with my mother before. As long as I'm healthy, I'll try to stay connected to the traditional craft of my homeland. I just hope that people won't forget the taste of the fish sauce made from freshwater fish by our ancestors," Mr. Hai shared.

THANH TIEN

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/man-moi-vi-nuoc-mam-dong-a464394.html