Fish sauce – Been around in South East Asia / China for about 2000 years in some form or other. Phu Quoc Island is famous for it’s production, especially the small coastal village of Han Ninh
It is produced by fermenting vast amounts of Anchovies and brine for up to two years in large wooden vats made from coconut wood and bound with girdles of stout braided vines. These act in the same manner as the steel banding used in barrel making in the UK. I have no idea how they join/make the vines to exactly the correct dimensions to compress the wood together.
The quality of the Fish sauce is simply measured by the amount of dilution. It’s almost impossible to obtain a 100% sauce but the higher quality sauces are used for dips whereas the lower quality is used for cooking. A bit like Olive Oil.
A traditional fishing boat leaves Duong Dong harbour. Most fishing takes place at night and the boats are adorned with dozens of lights to attract the fish.
I am currently reading a book about laos, in particular an area in the North of Laos called ‘The Plain of Jars’ which is a flat area surrounded by beautiful mountains. On this plain are many huge stone jars which were deemed to be funeral earns but no one knows who made them. During the American/Vietnam war the area fell under the control of the ‘Pathet Laos’ a Socialist / Communist group with close ties to Ho Chi Minh and the Vietminh. The Pathet Laos were funded and supplied by Chairman Mao in China. During the years 1964 to 1969 Laos became the most heavily bombed country in the world, because the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail ran through it. Or possibly, as one Senior American Military Officer said after LBJ had stopped the bombing of North Vietnam. ‘We had all these planes with nothing to do.’ The total tonnage of bombs dropped on the plain of jars, this simple agricultural society, exceeded the entire amount dropped by the allies during WW11. One can only assume that they had formed the mindset that all occupants of that area were potential enemy.
The bombing was totally illegal as Laos was officially a neutral country. America did not disclose it had bombed Laos until the early seventies, even then it insisted they had only targeted military targets
Thousands of Laos peasants were literally blown to pieces, shot from gunships, peppered with cluster bombs or burnt to death with white phosphorous / Napalm.
Love and peace John (Always look on the bright side of life!)
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