Delicious Vinh Thuan snakehead fish sauce

As one of the local specialties and pride, Vinh Thuan snakehead fish sauce is brewed from fresh snakehead fish, going through a meticulous processing process to create a rich and distinctive flavor that can make many diners "miss" when they have the opportunity to try it.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao introduces her family's snakehead fish sauce product.

Visiting Co Ba fish sauce production facility in Vinh Phuoc 2 hamlet, Vinh Phong commune, I was led by Ms. Nguyen Thi Hao, owner of Co Ba snakehead fish sauce production facility, to visit her family's fish sauce production facility and introduce the processing stages.

While chatting with me, Mrs. Hao's hands were still deftly weighing the fish sauce to sell to customers. According to Mrs. Hao, the ingredients to make snakehead fish sauce include snakehead fish, rice powder, coarse salt and cane sugar. The steps are quite simple but require meticulousness. The snakehead fish chosen to make the sauce must meet the requirements, otherwise the flavor will not be up to standard. Wild snakehead fish has firmer and sweeter meat than farmed snakehead fish, so when fermented, the sauce will have a distinctive flavor.

After bringing the snakehead fish home, it will be cleaned, the bones removed, then marinated with a little salt, left for about 2 hours for the fish to absorb the flavor, then drained. Next, put the fish and salt in a plastic tub, the amount of salt depends on each person. If you put too little, the fish sauce will spoil, if you put too much, the fish sauce will be salty and will not taste good.

Leave the fish in the tank for about a week to absorb the salt, then take the fish out, pour out the water, clean the tank, then put the fish back in with the rice bran and mix well, continue to compress the fish, leave for about 10 days to let the fish absorb the rice bran.

Then, the snakehead fish is taken out again, the water is poured out, and the melted cane sugar is added and mixed well. The fish is compressed for at least 1 more year to produce the finished snakehead fish sauce. The weather also affects the fermentation time. If there is a lot of sun, the fermentation will be faster, if there is a lot of rain, it will take longer.

Delicious fish sauce dish made from snakehead fish sauce.

Co Ba snakehead fish sauce is sold at 150,000 VND/kg. Customers who buy snakehead fish sauce are not only local people, but also tourists and businesses from many provinces and cities. They buy in large quantities for later use and as gifts for relatives and friends.

Ms. Phan Thi Minh Loan, residing in Son Kien commune, said that she and her family members love Vinh Thuan snakehead fish sauce because it has a strong, fragrant flavor, firm, soft, and chewy flesh. When she has the opportunity to visit Vinh Thuan, she often buys 10kg of snakehead fish sauce to save for later consumption.

If you have the opportunity to come to Vinh Thuan, enjoy the delicious taste and rich flavor of the local specialty fish sauce.

Article and photos: TUONG VI

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/thom-ngon-mam-loc-vinh-thuan-a426996.html