Local fish sauce used at five-star resort

Chef Doãn Văn Tuấn serves a dish with Nam Ô village fish sauce at Furama resort's kitchen. It's the first time a locally-made fish sauce is used at a luxury resort. Photo courtesy of Doãn Văn Tuấn

ĐÀ NẴNG — The local fish sauce of Nam Ô village has been used as an official ingredient at the five-star Furama resort Đà Nẵng’s kitchen, serving visitors at the beach-front vacation site.

General director of Indochina beach hotel joint-stock company Nguyễn Đức Quỳnh said the fish sauce brand ‘Hương Làng Cổ’ (Ancient Village Savour) was qualified for official use by the executive chef of the resort at cuisine events in early March.

A Nam Ô village fish sauce oak barrel is used to provide the key sauce for international gastronomes in Đà Nẵng. Photo courtesy of Doãn Tuấn

He said the authentic sauce helps create a unique and unforgettable cultural experience for international and Vietnamese travellers in Đà Nẵng.

Nguyễn Thái Nhật Huy, marketing and sales representative of the fish sauce brand, said the family would reserve 600 litres of the two-year-old fermented fish sauce for Furama’s kitchen use in 2024.

Huy said all premium fish sauce would be stored in oak barrels for the best taste and flavour.

Executive chef at Furama, Doãn Văn Tuấn, said he emphasised using traditional local ingredients and materials in his course on Việt Nam’s cuisine art.

“The ‘Ancient Village Savour’ fish sauce brand features the unique taste of fishing communities in Đà Nẵng. The mixture of qualified fish sauce and other ingredients in cooking would bring memorable satisfaction for gastronomes visiting Đà Nẵng,” Tuấn said.

He also said Nam Ô village fish sauce bottles can serve as gifts for visitors.

Bùi Văn Phú, an owner of ‘Ancient Village Savour’ family, said the premium fish sauce, which has preserved the 1958 seal of quality, has not yet been officially exported, but it has been used by overseas Vietnamese in the US, Australia and Europe.

Fish sauce is stored in oak barrels at a fish sauce maker in Nam Ô village in Đà Nẵng. Fish sauce is promoted as an eco-tour experience in the village. Photo courtesy of Nhật Huy

Phú said his family alone produces 20,000 litres per year, out of a total 200,000 litres capacity among more than 100 households in the village.

The fish sauce brand is currently sold at the Go supermarket under the Central Retail Corporation in downtown Đà Nẵng, making it the first made-in-Đà Nẵng fish sauce on sale at a supermarket.

The fish sauce trade of Nam Ô Village was also recognised as a National Intangible Heritage by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2019, and the village has become an eco-tour and craft destination.

A cup of coffee topped with concentrated dried fish sauce powder is introduced in Nam Ô fish sauce village in Đà Nẵng. Visitors here can explore fish sauce production and taste the sauce with a few sips of coffee. Photo courtesy of Nhật Huy

Last year, the fish sauce brand was the only representative product of the central city participating in Foodex-Japan 2023, the largest international food and beverage exhibition in Asia.

Recently, Nam Ô fish sauce coffee, a coffee topped with concentrated dried fish sauce powder, was introduced as an innovative and diversified marketing toolat local fairs and craft tours in the village.