Sauces and Pastes · FFET10367
Chaoshan fish sauce (Teochew yulu)
Fish sauce is a local Chaoshan condiment.
Soy sauce, bean and flour pastes, sesame paste and fish sauce.
Guangdong's Chaoshan area and Fujian produce Chinese fish sauce, a local condiment in Chaoshan cuisine. The 6th-century Qimin Yaoshu records fish-sauce preparations, but it does not establish the origin of Chaoshan fish sauce; the available sources do not date this local product.
When
Volume 8 of the 6th-century Qimin Yaoshu includes fish-sauce preparations, showing that fish sauces were made in northern China then. These passages do not mention Chaoshan and cannot establish the origin date of Chaoshan fish sauce; the available sources provide no dated primary account of this local product.4
Where
Chinese fish-sauce producing areas include Guangdong's Chaoshan area and Fujian, and fish sauce is a condiment in Chaoshan cuisine. The available sources do not establish a particular town of origin for Chaoshan fish sauce.1,3
How
General fish-sauce methods involve salting, sealing and fermentation, while a Fujian method also includes boiling and filtering; neither establishes a verified Chaoshan-specific process. Fish sauce is a local Chaoshan condiment.1,2,3
Why
The fish used for Chaoshan fish sauce is too fatty, bony and strong-smelling to eat directly. Longer fermentation produces a less fishy, nuttier flavor; this is a general description, not an assessment of an individual Chaoshan product.2
Impact and influence
Fish sauce is a local Chaoshan condiment, and Chaoshan cuisine pairs different dishes with separate dipping sauces. The available sources provide no dated production or sales figures for Chaoshan fish sauce.3