An Giang’s mam ca or fish sauce is different from the Vietnamese fish sauce that is worldwide known. If Vietnamese traditional fish sauce is made from sea fish and salt and only the juice from the fish is used as fish sauce, An Giang’s fish sauce is salted fresh-water fish and both the juice and the fish is used.   

There are dozens of kinds of mam ca, named after the species of salted fish, such as mam sac (salted sac fish), mam linh (salted linh fish), mam loc (salted snake-head), mam ro (salted anabas), mam ba khia (salted ba khia fish), and so on.

Pha Le

Salted fish is arranged in an impressive way… like a mountain.. … or an artwork. The shape of salted fish is also diverse, depending on the fish species and processing method. It is very difficult to tell what kind of salted fish is the best or the most popular because each kind has its own taste. Salted fish can be used immediately or after being boiled down. This is called mam Thai. This is mam ba khia, processed from ba khia crab. There are also vegetarian mam, processed from fruit like papaya or cabbage. An Giang’s mam is not salty but a little sweet as mam is usually mixed with palm sugar, another specialty of An Giang. Upon entering the area selling mam, tourists will smell the special fragrance. The brands of mam products in An Giang are named after teachers, such as Co Giao Thao (Teacher Thao), Co Giao Thanh (Teacher Thanh) or Ba Giao Khoe (Teacher Khoe). Salted fish in An Giang is produced throughout the year, but it is most delicious in the flooding season – the exciting fishing season and also the mam ca making season. If you visit An Giang, you can buy mam ca as gifts for friends and family.

Photo: Kien Thuc