Taste of the sea

Mr. Nguyen Minh Dao (Khuc Phu Ba Hao fish sauce production facility, Hoang Phu commune, Hoang Hoa) introduces the product to tourists.

Those who belong to the early 8x and 9x generations will always remember the taste of rice mixed with lard and a little fish sauce, a dish "made" from the most available ingredients in the house. Just scoop hot rice into a bowl, then quickly find your mother's lard bowl neatly placed in the kitchen cupboard, stir in a little bit, mix well, and finally drizzle one or two layers of fish sauce to enjoy. The sticky and fragrant taste of rice mixed with the fatty taste of lard and the salty taste, the characteristic aroma of fish sauce blend together, stimulating the taste buds immensely. After eating one bite, you will want to eat another, in a short while the bowl of rice is gone, without having to "flirt" with more meat or fish. Don't think that this simple dish is only "suitable" for poor children to "defend" their hunger or when craving "delicacies". At that time, rice mixed with lard and fish sauce was an "addictive" dish for many people, regardless of rich or poor.

The “soul” of that dish is the fish sauce essence. It is a type of fish sauce made by traditional manual methods, the “quintessence” is distilled from the first time from a mixture of fish and salt after a laborious fermentation process. Therefore, the fish sauce has a characteristic aroma, a rich sweet aftertaste due to the preservation of high protein content. Because of its outstanding advantages, the price of fish sauce essence is somewhat higher than other types of fish sauce. Sometimes remembering that childhood dish, I often wonder: Surely because it is so delicious and expensive, along with the lard bowl, the bottle of fish sauce essence is the most cherished and cared for by my mother in the kitchen. Every day I wipe the bowl to pour the fish sauce, my mother always reminds me: “Pour just enough to eat, don’t waste it”. If I accidentally pour a little too much, and have leftovers, my mother clicks her tongue and sighs. Many times, “out of anger, I frown and ask: “What you did is disgusting. Fish sauce is not gold, silver, or precious stones”. So my mother had the opportunity to let me listen to the "song of the fish sauce village".

That "song", after many years, still makes me feel deeply, remember. My mother told the story: "The fish sauce in the restaurant is all bought from acquaintances in Khuc Phu village (Hoang Phu commune) - the coastal area of ​​Hoang Hoa with a long-standing traditional fish sauce making profession". From the herring, mackerel, anchovy to the salt grains marinated in the fish, all are soaked with the sweat and efforts of the fishermen, the salt workers who "go through the sun and rain" to have it. My mother said with all her sharing and respect: "Working as a fisherman all year round, drifting at sea, facing many fortunes and misfortunes, God gives it to you when he knows when". The process of making fish sauce also goes through many hardships and difficulties: Marinating fish - salting, fermenting, stirring, plus many "anxious" sun - rain to produce drops of fragrant, smooth, delicious golden fish sauce. My mother regrets the efforts of the people, regrets the quintessence of the sea, of the land, of the people that is deposited in each drop of fish sauce...

When I got married, I got to experience and enjoy that flavor of fish sauce in a special way. For many years, my husband's parents have had the habit of brewing fish sauce at home. At the end of March, when the sea areas in Thanh Hoa such as Hau Loc, Hoang Hoa, Sam Son... are in the peak season of herring, my parents take the trouble to go to the beach, wait for the fishing boats to return to choose fresh fish. Or sometimes, my parents contact a "contact" who is familiar with the fishing profession in the Hoang Thanh (Hoang Hoa) sea area to bring herring to the house and ask them to brew it.

The recipe for pickling fish varies from place to place, region to region. According to the experience of salting fish of fishermen in Hoang Hoa coastal area, they often pickle fish in the ratio: 2 - 1 (2 fish - 1 salt). Fresh herrings are pickled with white salt in earthenware jars that my parents placed in the corner of the yard. From the stage of choosing ingredients, "worrying" about drying in the sun, beating fish sauce, filtering fish sauce... it is also very elaborate. The smell, taste and color of homemade fish sauce are somewhat different from fish sauce bought in the market. My parents-in-law said: "It is a bit fussy but guaranteed. We are also used to the taste of this fish sauce".

If someone asks which scent is the most attractive and evokes the most nostalgia for the countryside, I believe that the flavor of fish sauce will be mentioned in many people's stories. My mother shows her love for traditional fish sauce by buying and using it every day in meals, sending it as gifts to relatives or enthusiastically introducing the traditional fish sauce brand of her hometown with pride: "My hometown has the famous traditional fish sauce village of Khuc Phu". And I also had the opportunity to meet and listen to the stories of generations of children born and raised in the locality who have been striving and trying to continue to cultivate and develop the profession and the craft village, bringing the collective brand of Khuc Phu fish sauce far and wide, building a brand with a strong personal mark from this village...

The taste of traditional fish sauce is one of the most beautiful notes in the song called... the taste of the sea.

Article and photos: Dang Khoa

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/vi-bien-243938.htm