Currently, Sa Chau fish sauce is famous and supplied to many provinces across the country such as Dien Bien, Son La to southern provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh.
Fish brought back is incubated with salt, sun dried. (Photo: Bich Ha-Thu Hoai / Vietnam +) Sa Chau village, Giao Chau commune, Giao Thuy district, Nam Dinh in the past is famous for its craft fish sauce traditional crafts. Not yet at the village gate, the smell of fishes rising and fragrant, jars and bottles of honey-colored fish sauce excite anyone passing by. The profession of making fish sauce in Giao Chau has been around for hundreds of years, originating Sa Chau village , the Catholic village of Sa Chau. Because the production is 100% by hand, the processing stage is extremely meticulous. The ingredients used are mainly scallop fish, pompano, and juvenile shrimp, which are still fresh, not chilled, not crushed, and must choose the time when the fish are the most fatty to process. People here divide the weather into two seasons, the dry season and the rainy season. The dry season is the production season, the middle time of the year, while the beginning and the end of the year rains a lot, they spend time to sell. Salt seeds are also selected meticulously, meticulously, the salt purchased in the last season of April to the end of May, the salt leaves any seeds into that grain, the white shade. In particular, salt needs to be in storage for more than a year before it can be used to get rid of its acrid taste. The recipe for making handmade sauce here is also more elaborate than in many other places. On average, each fish nest is marinated with 1.2-1.3kg of salt for six consecutive months to crush the fish completely, then pass the bamboo basket lined with cloth to squeeze out pure fish sauce. One stage in the process of making Sa Chau fish sauce. (Photo: Bich Ha-Thu Hoai / Vietnam +) Fish sauce is poured into thin aluminum plates, continued to be exposed to the sun so that white salt streaks float on the water surface. The fish sauce spread throughout the yard, sunlight shines through, the scent faintly. But because fish sauce cannot be sticky with water, people must cover it up carefully every day. The job of making fish sauce looks leisurely, but it is actually extremely hard. As long as the batch of marinated fish is not delicious, or to get caught in a rain, it will be considered as the effort of marinating the fish for months. Ms. Mai Thi Ty, a longtime fish sauce maker in the village, shared: “In the old days, when the elderly were hungry, the elderly made the fish sauce very salty, now we eat less salt, it is more difficult to preserve but the quality is still fragrant The traditional fish sauce in Sa Chau is only dried in the sun, not cooked, allowing the sun to slowly absorb the taste of heaven and earth. But making fish sauce is also very precarious, the fish cannot meet our needs, sometimes the fish is delicious but not sure to dry, or many families take the same batch of fish but have a good home. Partly fish, but also in the hands of people meticulously. Fish sauce each house has its own secret, not making superficiality, will reduce the prestige of the whole village. ” Currently, Sa Chau fish sauce is famous and supplied to many provinces across the country such as Dien Bien, Son La to southern provinces such as Ho Chi Minh City, Tay Ninh. Concerns with traditional jobs On average, one ton of mackerel can get 300 liters of fish sauce with a very dry formula. Sa Chau fish sauce also has many types, if it can be dried in the sun, the fish sauce is the most delicious, the price is stable, and if sun drying is not guaranteed, it must be sold at a cheaper price. Therefore, currently there are not many descendants’ class following the profession. That is also the concern of many people making sauces for many years. Ms. Nguyen Van Hai said that fish sauce here is made 100% by hand, through more stages, the filter is finished, dried, then dried again. If the fish sauce is semi-industrial, it will be finished with color, anti-rot. All flavors are natural, sun-dried to absorb from the outside into, naturally, the fish sauce is calming. When drying, it is necessary to be close to the sun, drying just enough 3 sun, but 4.5 sunshine will not fragrance anymore. Above all, making fish sauce depends on the weather, a little mistake is broken immediately, so it is so hard, children and grandchildren do not want to follow the profession. ” Sa Chau fish sauce is made 100% by hand, through many more steps, the filter is finished, dried, then dried again. (Photo: Bich Ha-Thu Hoai / Vietnam +) Sa Chau fish sauce, although famous, is facing the danger of fading. The number of customers who order mainly know through referrals, patrons or come to buy places by themselves. Many families also choose to work part-time jobs while waiting for fish sauce such as cooking wine, making shrimp paste, making tapioca flour and turmeric. This is also a way to have additional jobs while waiting for fish sauce, while earning additional income. Ms. Hai added: “My village fish sauce is bought by people by themselves, and my house doesn’t have any billboards. Now the most important is the need for young manpower. Now people follow on the mass media, I know but cannot transmit, cannot spread. Like me, despite having a reputation for making delicious fish sauce, the future has yet to find a successor. Currently, Sa Chau village has about 30 households producing and processing fish sauce, of which 10 are large-scale producers. The fish sauce production and processing households here are granted food safety certificates by the Sub-Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Nam Dinh province. The life of the people in the fish sauce village is hard, but everyone is familiar with the smell of sea fish sauce, everyone is enthusiastic about every drop of fish sauce, creating traditional values that few places can get./.
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