Artisanal Fish Sauce……. A Dying Art?

One of my favorite places in Vietnam is the coastal city of Nha Trang. This city is home to our good friend Captain Cook and Chef Danhi’s favorite fish sauce, produced in small batches by a local family. In September of 2008 Chef Danhi and Co had the opportunity to visit this beautiful city, named Nha Trang meaning Bamboo River by the ancient Champa people that used to inhabit the area. While visiting we made it a point to seek out this artisanal fish sauce factory that Robert had been telling us about since his last visit to the city. Lead by the prolific and local Captain Cook, AKA Mr. Chow, we were able to locate this fabled fish sauce family. We arrived at the family home by way of 2 stroke motor bike. We hopped off our bikes and strolled up to the front door where Captain Cook was already speaking to an elderly woman. I watched as the corners of Captain Cook’s smile became heavy and morphed into a telling frown; something was wrong. He explained that, to our disappointment and relative dismay, they were no longer producing this potent elixir of umami. Our disappointment was quickly eclipsed by an obvious and overwhelming sense of grief permeating the air and was evident on the expressions of all those around us who could understand the conversation being held in Vietnamese. Captain explained that the family Patriarch had just passed away and the family was in the middle of the grieving process. Traditionally the younger generations would take over following the death of the patriarch; however, in Vietnam today the majority of the population is under the age of 25 and this younger generation has a different idea of what is cool and desirable in a profession. It was made very clear to us that the young adults of working age in this family do not want to continue the family tradition of fish sauce making. “it is very hard work and it smells really bad” they told us as they pinched their noses. What is going to happen to these ancient and regional traditions? Are they destined to eventual oblivion? Only time will tell.

We did eventually find another small, local producer in Nha Trang. Check out the photos!

Our hostess

Young & Older Fish Sauce

Team Chef Danhi & Co & Fish Sauce Producers

Click below for a quick recipe with fish sauce!

Vietnamese Lime & Garlic Dipping Sauce (Nuoc-Cham)

Globally Hungary; Universally Yours!

Chef ARI