In the lead-up to Tet 2026, the streets of Giao Hung commune in Ninh Binh province are bustling with activity. Households in the centuries-old Sa Chau fish sauce village are working around the clock - filtering, bottling, and labeling thousands of liters of their handcrafted product in anticipation of the holiday market rush.

A legacy steeped in salt and time

Sa Chau has long been famous for its rich, traditional fish sauce - a product made without machines and with strict attention to detail passed down over generations. Despite its artisanal methods, the village’s signature flavor and consistency have helped its reputation grow far beyond local borders. Today, Sa Chau fish sauce retails from USD 1.20 to USD 4.80 per liter, depending on quality and aging.

As the year draws to a close, the village becomes noticeably more vibrant. Every household is busy preparing to meet the festive demand, with Tet seen as the most important sales season of the year.

From tradition to trending: Social media boosts sales

At the home workshop of Trinh Thi Sanh, the pace is relentless. Sanh, the fourth generation in her family to make fish sauce, recalls a time when their products were sold solely through word-of-mouth and local traders.

That changed when she began filming her production process and sharing it online. “Orders increased significantly,” Sanh says. Her family now sells tens of thousands of liters annually, a volume that requires careful planning months in advance of Tet.

Her storage tanks are already filled with thousands of liters, ready for shipment as gifts or ingredients for the holiday feast.

From raw fish to golden drops: A process of patience

Nearby, Pham Van Hoat, born in 1954, is also deep into Tet preparations. With more than half a lifetime devoted to fish sauce, Hoat is a repository of the craft’s many secrets.

To him, the key to unforgettable fish sauce lies in the earliest stages: sourcing. Fish are bought from March to May, while shrimp (known as tep moi) are selected between June and August, all caught and fermented the same day to preserve freshness.

Salt, too, is taken seriously. Sa Chau producers favor Bach Long salt (from what is now Giao Binh, Ninh Binh province) for its balanced salinity and purity. It’s stored for at least a year to reduce bitterness, resulting in the fish sauce’s signature sweet aftertaste.

For every 1 ton of fish, 150 kilograms of salt are used. Fermentation spans a minimum of 12 months, during which the mixture must be stirred and the tanks cleaned daily.

After that, the essence is filtered through woven cloth-lined bamboo baskets, then sun- and moon-dried for 7–10 days in shallow vats until one-third of the liquid remains. Once a white film forms, the sauce is transferred to clay jars for the crucial “warm aging” stage, basking under the sun for at least six months to develop depth and aroma.

Only then does it undergo “cool aging,” resting in a dark, covered space until ready for a final filtration and bottling.

Weather watch: The biggest threat to tradition

Sa Chau fish sauce is never boiled. Exposure to rain can spoil an entire batch. “We have to watch the sky constantly,” Hoat says. “If we even suspect rain, we cover everything - day or night.”

Thanks to this vigilance, Sa Chau’s reputation remains intact. Hoat’s family sells around 9,000 to 10,000 liters each year, and even during Tet’s intense demand, he refuses to cut corners.

“This trade is tough. It demands care and consistency like raising a child,” he adds. “That’s why younger generations are reluctant. But for those who stick with it, it’s a sustainable livelihood.”

Trong Tung