Gia Vien Shrimp Paste - Culinary Heritage of Ninh Binh

Gia Vien, a land located in the heart of Ninh Binh, Vietnam, is known for its low-lying terrain, where water is abundant all year round. This geographical feature creates conditions for this land to develop abundant freshwater aquatic resources, thereby creating many unique and attractive dishes, including Gia Vien shrimp paste - a symbol of local cuisine.

Life in Gia Vien is a life closely linked to agriculture, with people working hard to conquer both the land and the sky. With a difficult life, people here have come up with a way to store shrimp for use throughout the year, because the shrimp season is quite short and after the season it will be difficult to catch more. Over many generations, families in this locality have developed traditional shrimp paste recipes, turning this dish into a famous specialty with a name that spreads everywhere.

Ninh Binh, with its unique terrain and picturesque beauty, along with its long history with historical dynasties, has created favorable conditions for the development of tourism and the spread of traditional cuisine to everyone. Thanks to that, Gia Vien shrimp paste has become more popular and famous, bearing the rich flavor of the homeland of the people of the ancient capital.

When you set foot in Gia Vien, you will not be able to avoid seeing shrimp paste appearing in every daily meal of the local people. Each family will buy a large amount of shrimp to soak and ferment according to their own recipe, thereby providing a special flavor to family meals throughout the year.

The way to prepare shrimp paste is very simple, it can be used to season other dishes or simply steamed or steamed with rice and enjoyed immediately. People in Ninh Binh often eat shrimp paste simply, just pour the sauce into a bowl, add dried onions, fried garlic and ginger leaves, then eat with white rice - a simple meal but still full of flavor and delicious.

In Gia Vien, no one knows exactly when shrimp paste first appeared, but in the subconscious of each person, the image of parents and siblings going out to the fields early in the morning to catch shrimp, and coming back in the afternoon to clean and ferment the fish sauce for later use is still present. From generation to generation, each family carries on their own way of fermenting, but most of them are a habit, done every year without having to be too complicated.

The process of fermenting shrimp paste in Gia Vien, although it has become familiar, to create a delicious fish sauce product requires high manual skills and has its own secrets. For example, roasting the rice bran must be done on a small fire, even just hot coals, and stirring the rice bran carefully to ensure the rice turns evenly golden to create the best aroma and flavor for the fish sauce. Do not use a high fire because it will burn the rice quickly and the fish sauce may become bitter and of poor quality.

Nowadays, Gia Vien has many famous fish sauce production facilities, distributing products to provinces and cities nationwide. These facilities often follow traditional recipes, performing manual processing steps to preserve the traditional flavor of shrimp sauce. Thanks to these facilities, local people have more job opportunities, more stable income, contributing significantly to the local economy, helping to improve life and increase income for families, in addition to agricultural work.