It is impossible to mention Vietnamese cuisine without mentioning fish sauce. However, not everyone, including locals, has the opportunity to visit and admire the fish sauce factory, the birthplace of the quintessential spices known as the symbol of Vietnamese cuisine.
From the perspective of an American chef with an endless love for Vietnamese cuisine for the past 15 years, Chad Kubanoff said this was the first time he visited a fish sauce factory and was truly "infatuated" by the beauty of Vietnamese fish sauce.
Observing the stages of fish sauce production, Chad said he was extremely impressed with the meticulous selection of ingredients, the hundreds of years old traditional fermentation method, and the miraculous transformation of nature that creates the unique flavor of fish sauce.
At An Thoi port, Chad was introduced to the first step in the fish sauce making process: selecting anchovies. In particular, the boat will carry salt to be used to marinate the newly caught anchovies directly to preserve their freshness and firmness. This type of salt is also specially selected from Ba Ria, and must be left to “breathe” for at least 3 months before use to bring out a salty, not bitter, taste.
The salted anchovies arriving at the port must pass a strict selection process with dozens of criteria on size, freshness, dryness, ratio of trash fish... to be qualified to be brought to the Chin-su Phu Quoc fermentation factory, which has a scale of up to 22,000m2 , nearly 500 fermentation tanks. Each tank is about 2.6m high and nearly 3m wide, each tank contains 12 - 15 tons of fish, operates continuously and is managed by an internationally standardized production process.
Mr. Bui Huy Nhich, Head of Technology Department at Chin-su Phu Quoc barrel house added: "For us, quality is the top factor". The barrel house ferments fish sauce in the traditional way for hundreds of years, anchovies and salt are kept to ferment for 9-12 months at a stable warm temperature, and without any other influence. In addition, the entire fermentation process and operation at the barrel house follow international standards that are inspected and certified by a third party such as: CODEX HACCP:2003, ISO 14001:2015, EU Code Certification...
Speaking more about his connection with the fish sauce factory, the American chef shared: “There is an interesting thing that I just learned, which is that this factory has been operating since 2008, which was also the time when I first set foot in Vietnam. Actually, I also have a bit of regret because it was only now that I had the opportunity to discover with my own eyes the stories behind this spice, even though I had heard about it and learned about it before. This is definitely an experience that I will mention many times in the future, with my international friends and relatives, who also love Vietnamese cuisine.”
It can be said that fish sauce is the soul of Vietnamese cuisine. With the effort to bring fish sauce in particular and all Chin-su products in general further and conquer international consumers, the “Go Global” strategy has been implemented comprehensively and has continuously achieved success.
Especially in 2023, CHIN-SU will continuously promote activities around the world such as: Foodex Japan, Seoul Foods, HCM Export, officially exporting and putting on shelves a series of products in markets around the world.
After the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Japan, Korea..., CHIN-SU aims to let consumers anywhere in the world enjoy Vietnamese fish sauce, thereby further loving the rich, quintessential flavor of the "magical" spice considered the leading symbol of Vietnamese cuisine.
Source
![[Photo] Gia Lai provincial leaders offer flowers at Uncle Ho's Monument with the ethnic groups of the Central Highlands](https://vphoto.vietnam.vn/thumb/1200x675/vietnam/resource/IMAGE/2025/7/9/196438801da24b3cb6158d0501984818)
Comment (0)