Cat Hai fish sauce - Culinary quintessence from Hai Phong sea

When it comes to fish sauce, people often think of famous names such as Phan Thiet, Ca Na, Phu Quoc,... However, it would be a big mistake not to mention the port city of Hai Phong, Vietnam with its specialty Cat Hai Fish Sauce. With its unique flavor and safe processing process, Cat Hai Fish Sauce has been voted by Guinness as one of the ten specialty spices of Vietnam.

Cat Hai fish sauce, from the sea of Cat Hai island, is a precious product that is not inferior to Cat Ba forest honey - another famous specialty of Hai Phong. Before 1959, this type of fish sauce was called Van Van, then changed its name to Cat Hai as it is today. Currently, both names are used to refer to this special type of fish sauce. The fish sauce making profession in Cat Hai has a long history, spanning centuries. Cat Hai fish sauce has been around for more than 100 years, since the Van Van fish sauce facility was established in 1916. Over time, this brand has become Cat Hai Seafood Processing and Service Joint Stock Company, the only company in the port city to supply fish sauce products under the name Cat Hai. Although there are a number of other companies and fish sauce production facilities, they are smaller in scale and not as famous as this company.

If you visit the Cat Hai fish sauce production facility, you will witness the entire process of creating drops of top quality and prestigious fish sauce. The secret to the success of Cat Hai fish sauce lies in the strictness and meticulousness right from the stage of selecting raw fish. To make delicious fish sauce, it is necessary to use fish such as anchovies, mackerel and especially anchovies - a type of fish with a characteristic flavor of the Cat Hai sea.

The next important criterion is the freshness of the fish: the fish eyes must be clear, still have water, when torn open the fish must have intact meat. This is the standard that fish must meet in order for people to take it home to make fish sauce. Depending on the type of fish used and the characteristics of the fish sauce, the product is divided into many brands with diverse flavors and essences such as: mackerel fish sauce, anchovy fish sauce, mullet fish sauce, squid fish sauce, as well as high-protein, premium fish sauce, supplemented with micronutrients, etc.

In addition, the “prime” location in the large fishing ground of Cat Hai - where there is a rich and abundant source of natural fish - also contributes to the unique flavor of Cat Hai Fish Sauce. It is this rich source of raw materials that helps produce a fish sauce with an unforgettable flavor.

After carefully sorting the fish to produce fish sauce, people will bring this fresh ingredient back to wash, remove impurities, mix with salt and then put it in jars to ferment. The unique point in the process of making Cat Hai fish sauce lies in the fermenting method - the method of mixing fish and salt evenly in a ratio of approximately 3:1, creating a rich saltiness for the fish sauce.

Every day, the fish sauce maker must open the jar to dry in the sun and stir to quickly ripen the fish sauce, creating a delicious and nutritious flavor for the fish sauce. As mentioned before, in addition to its special flavor, Cat Hai fish sauce is also voted by Guinness as one of the ten Vietnamese condiment specialties thanks to its safe processing process. Cat Hai fish sauce is proud to be a clean product, made from fresh fish and clean salt, without the intervention of any chemicals to create color or smell.

After about a year of fermentation, when the fish sauce has turned brown and has a characteristic aroma, this signals that the fish sauce is ripe. At this time, the fish bones and meat sink to the bottom, and the layer of oil floating on the surface of the water is the pure fish sauce. This pure fish sauce layer is brought down to the filter house, where the residue and the liquid are separated. Before being bottled and released to the market, the essence must be strictly tested for flavor, color and protein content. The residue of the fish sauce after being filtered is used as animal feed for aquatic animals.

Therefore, if you want to find a gift with a strong taste of the sea for your family after traveling to Hai Phong, Cat Hai Fish Sauce will be a great choice. As a prestigious brand, a specialty of the city, Cat Hai Fish Sauce not only ensures nutritional quality and safety for health, but also will surely conquer the love of your whole family.