Truong Thi Luan (91 years old) instructs her granddaughter how to make fish sauce according to the traditional method. Photo: Nguyen Hong

Profession of making fish sauce

From Tam Ky city to Tam Thanh, people can visit the famous mural village - Tam Thanh mural village, Hoa Trung village, Tam Thanh commune, about 7 kilometers from Tam Ky city (Quang Nam).

The village is located at a location bordering the sea on one side and the Truong Giang river on the other. Not only a tourist destination, the traditional fish-making village here is also a place for visitors to experience making, processing, and producing fish sauce for Quang Nam, Da Nang and some northern localities.

Coming from the famous Tam Ap fish sauce village in Tam Thanh commune, Le Thi Ngoc Tam's Ngoc Lan production facility (Hoa Trung village, Tam Thanh commune) uses fresh anchovies caught in the waters of Tam Thanh and the traditional stirring method to create pure, delicious and characteristic Ngoc Lan fish sauce.

The owner of this establishment said that Tam Thanh sea fish is famous for its delicious taste, rich in nutrients, vitamins and minerals, bringing delicious, quality and healthy fish sauce.

Ngoc Lan fish sauce is produced by traditional and manual methods. Fish and salt are mixed together in a certain ratio, aged for 10-12 months. After the incubation time, the finished product will be drops of fish sauce with a characteristic mild aroma.

Traditional fish sauce is facing fierce competition, many households have quit their jobs, craft villages are gradually disappearing.

However, Le Thi Ngoc Tam is focusing on building a brand in Quang Nam province and Da Nang city, aiming to make Ngoc Lan fish sauce a typical product of the province.

Not only saving the family's profession, developing the family economy, Ngoc Lan fish sauce production facility also creates jobs for six workers. Tam also wishes to "bring a good gift from the sea to the kitchen of every Vietnamese family."

Nguyen Thi Hoi checks her family's fish sauce.

Also in Tam Thanh mural village, people here and tourists also know about the traditional fish sauce facility of Hoi (50 years old).

Nguyen Thi Hoi's family has an area of about 30 square meters with 20 large jars of about 100 liters/jar.

From a young age, she helped her parents go to the sea to choose, buy and carry fish home to make fish sauce, so it was easier for her to choose fish.

After a long time of retailing, in 2010, Hoi's traditional fish sauce facility was established. Her main customers are the locals here, tourists and some orders sent to the provinces. On average, each month, her facility produces from 500 to 700 liters of fish sauce, up to tons at the time of Tet. Traditional fish sauce production brings her family a stable income of about VND100 million (US$4166)/year.

Preserving the traditional taste

When asked about the secret of her profession, Hoi didn't reveal any. "I don't have any secret. Only fresh fish, clean salt, and incubate them for a year."

Hoi also said she only sold fish sauce on the spot, to local people. "Quang Nam fish makes the best fish sauce. If only I knew how to sell online and export so that more people would know about it, that would be great," she said.

Ian George Robertson (from England) "It was only when I was in Vietnam that I knew about fish sauce. I always thought it was typical of Vietnam." Photo: Dieu Thuy

"I spent four years in Vietnam, one year in Hoi An, and three years in Tam Thanh. In 2019, I had the opportunity to work in Vietnam so I moved here," said Ian George Robertson, a British expat. "I like the fish sauce here. Sometimes we use fish sauce in our family meals. We use a simple plastic fish sauce bottle. The pork seller at the market gave it to us to try and we still use it to this day. I know Tam Thanh village makes fish sauce because I bought fish sauce from a family here. Traditional fish sauce has a different taste from other types of fish sauce. I have not tried fish sauce in other countries. It was only when I was in Vietnam that I knew about fish sauce. I always think this is typical of Vietnam."

At the age of 91, Truong Thi Luan, of the Ngoc Lan production facility, still recalls the ancient recipe brought down by her ancestors. "When I was born, my grandparents and parents made fish sauce. My family's fish sauce at that time was also famous in Tam Thanh area. Fish sauce is brought to the forest to exchange for food, and to the plains to exchange for rice. At that time, we made simple fish sauce, only fresh fish brewed with salt. Currently, in addition to family secrets, the children gain more experiences. Therefore, the fish sauce is purer and cleaner. I always hope the children to overcome the difficulties of life to keep the craft village."

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