Fermented fish is exceptional because you never forget its taste and because on a table full of various dishes it always dominates. Residents in the Mekong Delta have reason to be proud of this food.

Ways of making fermented fish differ from province to province. Production reached its peak about thirty years ago when fish were abundant and freezing techniques were not so widespread. Nowhere is the use of fermented fish more prevalent or the ways of making it more diverse than in provinces along the Mekong River.The Khmer people make their own fermented fish, called “mắm bò hóc”, from freshwater fish. The Vietnamese produce salty or sour fermented fish or shrimp. Three peoples in the Mekong Delta, the Vietnamese, Khmer and Chinese, are connoisseurs and producers.

It is a long time since I last visited Can Tho. Suddenly I miss that region so much, mis Ninh Kieu’s harbour, miss the land of white rice and pure water, miss the delta land which everyone hopes to visit once in their lifetime.

Standing on the gentle and romantic Hau River, Ninh Kieu harbour is crowded with boats full of specialties of the Mekong delta. They provide for the needs of people everywhere. Each season has its own fruits. Can Tho is endowed woth many fresh fruits such as My Tho plum, Cai Be mango, Cai Mon durian, Vinh Long longan, Cao Lanh guava, and especially the Nam Roi pomelo which is a wonderful gift for friends and relatives.

The sweet flavour of fruits comes from the alluvium of the Mekong river, which day and night feeds the delta. It also comes form the hard work of simple-hearted peasants from their salty sweat and from sunburnt faces and hands hardened by wrestling with farming tools.