The Nam O fish sauce village in Hoa Hiep Bac and Hoa Hiep Nam wards, Lien Chieu District, Da Nang, has a proud history covering more than 400 years. Despite experiencing ups and downs, the village still retains its distinctive flavour, and it is very inviting to locals and tourists at both home and abroad.

Mixing fish with salt is one of the important stages of making fish sauce

Products of the craft village are present in each meal of many families with their own unique values, expressing the local cultural identity.

For villagers, all stages from choosing fish and salt ingredients, the technique of adding and reducing salt and fish depending on season, and stirring techniques have to be done meticulously with the aim to produce the best fish sauce bottles.

According to the artisans of the Nam O fish sauce village, traditional fish sauce is understood as a product made entirely by the manual brewing method. The method has been passed down from generation to generation.

The Nam O brand of fish sauce tastes very different from similar products from elsewhere in the country thanks to its special recipe (fish mixed with salt at the rate of 3/1). The mixture is compressed, sealed in either wooden barrels or big clay jars and left under the sun for 12-15 months.

After that period of time, the first drops of finished fish sauce are called ‘mam cot’, the next batches are called the fist fish sauce, second fish sauce, etc.

The fish sauce is distilled from the essence of anchovies and salt and is soaked in jars for 18-24 months, helping the fish meat to be soaked in salt to break down proteins from simple to complex.

In the Nam O fish sauce craft village, in addition to basic techniques that can be widely passed on to the community, there are also private secrets that are passed down in the family in a hereditary fashion. Each family and each artisan have their own professional secrets, so finished products will be different.

The traditional fish sauce making craft in the Nam O Village has been recognized as part of national intangible cultural heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Therefore, the preservation and development of this traditional craft village is always a concern of the city. The product of the craft village is not only a spice in the daily meals of Da Nang people but also a cultural symbol of the local community.

To create the sauce’s delicious taste, the fish must be freshly caught.

Fresh and delicious fish are chosen to make fish sauce.

Fish are cleaned before being mixed with salt

The mixture of fish and salt is compressed, sealed in either wooden barrels or big clay jars

Wooden barrels or big clay jars are left under the sun for months

The stage of filtering fish sauce for finished products.

The final stage of labeling and packaging fish sauce bottles

Reporting by P. TOAN, P.M - Translating by M.DUNG