01x16 - Fish Sauce

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- It is a gift from the sea.

The simplest ingredient
develops into a most complex flavor.

It is a flavor borne by time.

A symphony of savory umami
is catalyzed by the long wait.

The authentic flavor of Chaoshan.

CHAOSHAN CUISINE

This gate tower has been standing here
for over 100 years.

Due to its proximity
to the mouth of the Han River,

Waipu has been a prominent fishing harbor
in Chaoshan since the last century.

Although the fishing industry
has declined,

an ancient craft born in this harbor
has continued to this day

and even impacted the overall flavors
of Chaozhou cuisine.

E BO

At 7:00 a.m., 92-year-old E Bo
goes to his fermentation shop as usual.

The secrets to Chaozhou cuisine flavors
are hidden inside this mass of big urns.

A magical liquid is fermenting
in these urns.

E Bo can assign tasks for today
according to the aroma.

These workers are
about the same age as E Bo.

They constantly stir the liquid
in the urns

for a more thorough fermentation process.

The shop's adjacent
to the Han River.

You can see fishermen working nearby.

Hilsa herring, a fish
that thrives in the mouth of the river,

is the main ingredient
in E Bo’s fermented product.

The fish is fatty, full of bones,
and gives off a rotten fish smell.

It's not suitable for direct consumption.

However, with salt and time,
everything will be different.

In the vast, open fields,

these massive urns undergo
windy and sunny weather, day and night.

The substances
in the urns are transforming drip by drip.

This urn has now undergone
natural fermentation for two years.

The surface of the liquid has formed
into a thick crust.

This is crystallized salt.

Fermentation is an art of time.

The flavor that E Bo has looked after
for two years

is hidden beneath this crystallized layer.

After the long marination
and fermentation processes,

the limpid liquid oozes to the top
when he breaks the surface,

and the rich aromas burst out instantly.

We can filter it now!

After two years,
it is ready to come out of the urn.

Now comes the last process.

Muslin captures any impurities
after it is filtered twice.

What remains is the essence of the fish.

This is one
of the most important condiments

in Chaoshan local cuisine: fish sauce.

In Chaoshan, it may be possible
to not have salt in the kitchen,

but it's impossible
to not have fish sauce.

For elders
who have made fish sauce all their lives,

they can determine the quality
of any fish sauce

with just one common household dish.

After the organic bases
in Chinese kale mix

with the amino acids in fish sauce,

bitterness dissolves from the Chinese kale

and leaves a sweet and refreshing taste.

Fish sauce fermentation
can be traced back to the Han dynasty,

and it has been around in Chaoshan
for over 2,000 years.

Due to lack of preservation techniques,
fish and shrimp were left unhandled

and started to ferment and produce
a brown liquid.

Fishermen discovered its unique flavor.

That is how fish sauce came into being.

Fish sauce has spread throughout the world
due to trade and immigration.

As a unique flavor, it enhances the taste
of various delicacies.

SHRIMP STUFFED SWIM BLADDER

In Chaoshan, makers such as E Bo

who follow the most ancient methods
for making fish sauce

are already very scarce.

In order to satisfy huge consumer needs,
nowadays, people use another method

to mass-produce fish sauce.

They use steaming
instead of natural fermentation.

Heat accelerates the decomposition
of the meat and the formation of flavor.

It takes two years for E Bo
to make his fish sauce.

Here, it only takes two months
before it’s sold on the market.

Both E Bo’s fermentation shop
and the fish sauce factory

make it clear that Chaoshan locals
are passionate about this condiment,

and even young people are no exception.

GUANHUA YANG

Guanhua Yang tries to combine
the ancient art with modern techniques

to bring innovation to fish sauce.

TASTE: 8, COLOR: 7, AROMA: 9+

Commerson’s anchovy,
found in the open sea waters of Chaoshan,

has translucent white meat
and is high in moisture.
Lots of inosinic acids
are produced after fermentation,

creating a flavor full of umami
and sweetness.

It is the sole ingredient
in Guanhua Yang’s fish sauce.

After it’s been marinated for two hours,

the fish loses up to 40 percent
of its weight in moisture.

Unlike E Bo’s method,

Guanhua Yang reinstates
the 100-year-old method of using

“mother and son urns.”

The large urn is the mother,
and the small one is the son.

The space between two urns is filled
with sea salt.

Salt not only inhibits bacterial growth,

but also prevents
drastic thermal changes inside the urn.

This kind of fermentation
takes an even longer period

of up to three years.

Microbial metabolism continues
inside the urn.

Fish ingredients start turning
into finer granule particles.

Fermentation continues
from the small urn to the large urn.

Salt seeps through the urn
and crystallizes.

This means the fish sauce
is almost finished.

With the custom-made urns
and the intricate urn covers,

the young man puts emphasis

on the sense of rituals
throughout the process.

The pungent rotten fish smell
has slowly faded.

Fish sauce is finally ready
to come out of the urn.

Guanhua Yang uses a more standardized tool
to filter impurities.

The gauze outside of the bamboo basket

has a mesh count
of 3,000 threads per square centimeter.

The thick, unprocessed sauce
slowly filters through the gauze.

Thirty days later, the bamboo basket
is filled with fish sauce.

According to differences
in filtration and blending,

fish sauce is classified
into different levels.

Those that are only filtered once,
with deep colors and thick consistencies,

are the most preferred.

This kind of fish sauce contains
a bit of oil

and has the strongest flavor.

Fish sauce can be preserved for many years

while the flavor continues to develop.

In Waipu, cooking with fish sauce
fermented in old urns

is the best hospitality one can bestow
to guests.

Starch, eggs, lard, and oyster
are pan-fried.

Add the fish sauce
after the oil in the pan is hot enough.

High heat brings out the flavor
of the fish sauce.

This is the oyster omelet
that Chaoshan locals take pride in.

OYSTER OMELET

Fish sauce is not only a seasoning

but also an important dipping sauce
in Chaoshan cuisine.

It serves as the finishing final touch
of gastronomic delight.

Don't add too much in this first soup.
It's good enough.

- Thank you.
- Thank you.

A drop of fish sauce represents

the Chaoshan local’s ultimate quest
for the flavor of umami.

It is their interpretation and innovation
of the cuisine in this region.

Don't add too much
in this first soup.

The taste is good. Here.
Cheers! Bottoms up!

They take painstaking efforts

to put unremarkable sea ingredients
into the hands of time.

The essences precipitate
under the sea, wind, and sunshine.

Fish sauce not only
imparts the soul into Chaozhou cuisine,

but is also the key to unlocking
the secret flavors of Chaoshan.

CHAOSHAN CUISINE