TRADITIONAL PHAN THIET “TĨN” FISH SAUCE
Vietnam’s fish sauce appeared about 300 years ago in the coastal fishing villages in Phan Thiet, and was developed by Tran Gia Hoa (who is considered the originator of pure Vietnamese rin fish sauce) and brought from Phan Thiet to the Southern Six Provinces.
Since then, the pure “tĩn” fish sauce of Phan Thiet with the unique recognition: covered with lime, labelled square with the brands of merchants are transported throughout Vietnam, from the Southern Six Provinces to the Central, even the North. The delicious fish sauce from Phan Thiet accounted for the largest market share in Vietnam at that time.
Years ago, they called this fish sauce as Rin fish sauce (first-press fish sauce), also known as “Tĩn” Fish Sauce.
LANG CHAI XUA (OLD FISHING VILLAGE) FISH SAUCE MUSEUM
Lang Chai Xua (Old Fishing Village) Fish Sauce Museum in Phan Thiet is a project bearing cultural and historical significance for the Vietnamese community in general and the Phan Thiet people in particular, the Xua Chai Village fish sauce museum restored and preserved the 300 years recipes of the traditional delicious fish sauce.
Lang Chai Xua (Old Fishing Village) Fish Sauce Museum not only preserves the historical excellence of the Phan Thiet rin fish sauce industry but also stores the values of development of Phan Thiet over the years.
OLD LABEL “TĨN” FISH SAUCE
Old label “Tĩn” Fish Sauce is a unique product line of Phan Thiet Lang Chai Xua (Old Fishing Village) Fish Sauce Museum. The delicious fish sauce contained in “tĩn” (earthenware pots) is completely pure Rin fish sauce and traditional brewing with 300 years recipes. Old label “Tĩn” Fish Sauce is contained in 500ml “tĩn”, with unique rope handles suitable as gifts.
Old label “Tĩn” Fish Sauce carries the unique culture in Vietnam. The pure and delicious fish sauce contained in a 500ml “tĩn” with the rope handle is pure Rin fish sauce (first-press fish sauce) drawn directly from the barrels, fermented from fresh anchovies and refined salt. This is the clean traditional Phan Thiet fish sauce, no preservatives.
The protein content of 41N is complete protein rin from fish, fish sauce of Phan Thiet region has a high concentration of fish protein with the 300-year-old recipe from the capital of fish sauce, Phan Thiet.
WHY PURE TRADITIONAL FISH SAUCE IS BETTER?
Traditional fish sauce is brown and dense, suitable for gourmets, used in the reception party.
The pure and delicious fish sauce contained in “tĩn” will limit light exposure and make this pure traditional fish sauce continue to be fermented so the quality will be even higher. Moreover, the exquisite “tĩn” fish sauce is also a great gift for guests, relatives on long trips or special occasions.
THE PROCESS OF MAKING TRADITIONAL FISH SAUCE
The best kind of fish to be brewed and fermented
Catching anchovies in Phan Thiet during the eighth lunar month will often produce the best anchovies to brew fish sauce. The anchovies caught in the eighth lunar month will usually be fat, big and cooked with salt when fresh, they will reach maximum protein concentration and the fish sauce will be delicious.
Anchovy is a floating animal, intensely active in the water, so it is low in fat. When making fish sauce from anchovies, there is no fat floating like other big fish. Compared with some other sea fish species, when they are brewed at the same time, the same method, the anchovies are more wholly hydrolyzed. Therefore fish sauce made from anchovy will be very fragrant and has no fishy smells.
Choosing the salt to make fish sauce
The salt used for maturing in the production of traditional fish sauce must be selected with big particles. The salt should be at the same size, milky in the middle, dry, and the particles do not stick together. The taste of the salt should be salty, not too acrid.
The pure salt particles can not be used to make fish sauce directly. Typically, the salt will be preserved in the manufacturer’s warehouse and “left” for about 12 months, the purpose is to let the salt no longer have the acrid and bitter taste of the new salt. This preservation process is to help fish sauce minimize the acrid taste of salt when harvested.
Brewing Traditional Fish Sauce following the formula: “3 Fish : 1 Salt”
After being caught and docked, fresh anchovies will be carefully selected by the fish sauce makers, washed with water and mixed with the pure sea salt (that has been chosen as above) in the ratio of 3 fish : 1 salt.
For every 3 tons of anchovy, producers will mix with 1 ton of pure, clean sea salt. After mixing the fish and salt, the fish sauce makers put all the salted fish into the barrels to keep.
The barrel made of Litsea wood is tightly and skillfully reinforced by large ropes made of wild rattan.
Thanks to the compacting of the barrels, the internal heat available in the fish make the active yeast increase enormously, and the centre gradually accumulates NH3, CO2, H2S gas… making the fish swell, the anchovy meat will be torn apart while the bones and the skin are still intact.
EXPIRY DAY OF FISH SAUCE? HOW LONG FISH SAUCE CAN BE USED SINCE OPENED?
The traditional fish sauce of Phan Thiet produced by Nuoc Mam Tin currently has a shelf life of 2 years from the date of manufacture. However, if you want the fish sauce to be delicious, you should keep the fish sauce in a cool, dry place and avoid the sun.
However, for natural fish sauce bottles, after opening the lid, they should be used within 3 months for the best quality. After 3 months, the fish sauce undergoes oxidation for too long due to exposure to the air. It will make the colour of the fish sauce darker, the fish sauce will slightly fade the flavour, less fragrant and does not look as beautiful as it originally was, although it can still be used till the expiry day with the same taste.
