Love for Hoi An's thính fish sauce

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Ngày cập nhật gần nhất: 15/11/2025

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Thính fish sauce: A definite must-try when visiting Hoi An

For as long as anyone can remember, thính fish sauce has become a familiar dish to both Hoi An locals and tourists. Many visitors make sure to buy some thính fish sauce as gifts for their loved ones before leaving the ancient town.

Thính fish sauce: A definite must-try when visiting Hoi An

When visiting Hoi An, tourists often cannot resist the allure of Hoi An market, where many cultural treasures of the old trading port are preserved. Among them are traditional items like Trà Nhiêu mats, Thanh Hà pottery products, Kim Bồng woodwork... and traditional Quảng dishes.

Particularly, Hoi An market is where various specialty fish sauces are gathered, made from fish and shrimp caught from the sea of Cửa Đại, Cù Lao Chàm..., including many types of thính fish sauce.

Hoi An residents are very familiar with their coastal fish to choose for making thính, commonly using cá de, cá chuồn, cá nục because these fish have firm, fresh, delicious meat and are very affordable.

Preparing a delicious thính fish sauce dish is truly an intricate process. After gutting and cleaning the fish with salted boiling water, the crucial step is salting the fish. Layering the fish with salt is meticulous, with some even using bamboo clips to press the fish down.

Once the jars of fish are tightly sealed, they are left to dry under the sun for a few days until the fish emits a distinct aroma, then the excess liquid is drained. The next step involves mixing the fish with thính, a finely ground powder made from roasted corn or rice.

After removing the fish to dry, a fresh mixture of thính is applied, and the fish is left to harden before placing them back into the jars. Then, dried banana leaves are used to cover the jars tightly along with a mixture of black sugar water and fish sauce poured over.

Continuing to ferment for a few more days, exposure to thính after a period of fermentation and sun-drying gives the fish a rich, fragrant aroma, turning the fish meat a beautiful golden brown, signaling that the sauce is fully matured.

Cá cơm and cá de are typically ready for consumption after two months of preparation, while cá chuồn, cá nục, and cá trích require up to three months.

From thính fish sauce, one can create mouthwatering dishes that captivate many. Simply stir-frying a few thính fish with rice or stewing them with pork belly, a hint of chili, pepper, and garlic.

For a unique flavor, one can mix thính fish sauce with various pickled vegetables like pickled mustard greens or cucumbers.

Especially noteworthy is grilling thính fish with betel leaves. Simply remove excess oil, place the thính fish on the leaves, wait until the fish absorbs the oil, flip them, and add the betel leaves. Lower the heat until the aroma spreads, wafting from house to house, then quickly remove from heat.

Currently, the craft of making thính fish sauce by residents along the Hoi An coastal region has been recognized by the Hoi An Heritage Conservation Center as a traditional profession and is included as a point of interest in eco-tours of the countryside.

Therefore, despite its simplicity, thính fish sauce effortlessly remains a renowned specialty both domestically and internationally.