<strong>Fish sauce:</strong> It is more than an ingredient -- it is the very soul of Vietnamese cooking. Click through to learn more.
Fish sauce: It is more than an ingredient -- it is the very soul of Vietnamese cooking. Click through to learn more.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Phung Hung:</strong> On Phú Quốc island, this factory makes some of Vietnam's finest fish sauce.
Phung Hung: On Phú Quốc island, this factory makes some of Vietnam's finest fish sauce.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Location:</strong> Phú Quốc is off the coast of southern Vietnam, a 45-minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City.
Location: Phú Quốc is off the coast of southern Vietnam, a 45-minute flight from Ho Chi Minh City.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Key ingredients: </strong>The crucial ingredients in fish sauce are cá cơm (black anchovies) and smaller white anchovies. Together, they comprise about 95% of the fish used.
Key ingredients: The crucial ingredients in fish sauce are cá cơm (black anchovies) and smaller white anchovies. Together, they comprise about 95% of the fish used.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Barrel aged: </strong>The sauce spends a year in barrels made of boi loi wood.
Barrel aged: The sauce spends a year in barrels made of boi loi wood.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Fishing for compliments:</strong> The hefty barrels which hold tons of fish are made from 54 slats of wood, bound together by hand with a rattan twine. It takes two men three weeks to make one.
Fishing for compliments: The hefty barrels which hold tons of fish are made from 54 slats of wood, bound together by hand with a rattan twine. It takes two men three weeks to make one.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>365 days:</strong> Every day for a whole year, the liquid that seeps from the fish is drained and then returned into the vat.
365 days: Every day for a whole year, the liquid that seeps from the fish is drained and then returned into the vat.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Cream of the crop:</strong> The most coveted sauce comes from the first pressing. It is sometimes called "extra virgin," like olive oil.
Cream of the crop: The most coveted sauce comes from the first pressing. It is sometimes called "extra virgin," like olive oil.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Flavor profile:</strong> The sauce's intensity is measured by the amount of nitrogen present.
Flavor profile: The sauce's intensity is measured by the amount of nitrogen present.
Chris Dwyer
<strong>Going home:</strong> Some airlines have rules against fish sauce in case of spillage, so Phung Hung's staff is well versed in how to pack bottles extra tight.
Going home: Some airlines have rules against fish sauce in case of spillage, so Phung Hung's staff is well versed in how to pack bottles extra tight.
Chris Dwyer