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Fish and seafood from Vietnam

Cá thính Lập Thạchcá thính

Cá thính is a sour fish of Lập Thạch in Vĩnh Phúc. Cleaned freshwater fish are salted in a jar for several days, pressed and sun-dried, then coated inside and out with thính, a powder of roasted grain, and sealed in a ceramic jar. After about two weeks the flesh turns pink and sour.

DocumentedFish and seafood18 days – 21 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe 10 kg to 1.5 kg salt ratio is from a VietnamNet food feature; the government page gives no amounts.
Fresh fish, gutted and drained10 kgLarge fish are cut into pieces about two finger joints long; small fish are left whole[vnn2013][moit-cathinh]
Salt1.5 kg[vnn2013]
Thính (roasted maize and soybean, ground; or roasted rice)Enough to coat every fish[vnn2013][moit-cathinh]

Total time across the recorded steps: 18 days – 21 days

Start
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What changes: The fish are scaled, gutted and cut into short pieces

Step 1 of 4
Clean and cut the fish
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The fish must have scales. Output: scaled, gutted fish, large ones cut into short pieces, drained.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Cá thính is a sour fish of Lập Thạch in Vĩnh Phúc. Cleaned freshwater fish are salted in a jar for several days, pressed and sun-dried, then coated inside and out with thính, a powder of roasted grain, and sealed in a ceramic jar. After about two weeks the flesh turns pink and sour. Made in 4 steps over 18 days – 21 days. The longest step, coat with thính and seal in a ceramic jar, takes 14 days (VietnamNet 2013). Salt is 13–15 % (VietnamNet 2013).

Key numbers
Main step14 daysReported[vnn2013]Coat with thính and seal in a ceramic jar
Salt13–15 %Reported[vnn2013]Salt in a jar

What makes this one different

The fish is salted and dried first, then fermented in a coat of dry roasted-grain powder in an upturned jar, not under brine.

Related ferments

Safety

The fish sits sealed in a jar for about two weeks. CDC lists improperly fermented homemade foods as a common source of botulism, and says most foodborne botulism in Alaska has come from fermented fish. The recipe uses 1.5 kg of salt to 10 kg of fish, about 15 % of the fish weight, a figure from one news feature and not a tested level.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Intellectual Property Office granted the Lập Thạch cá thính mark in 2010, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade portal.

  1. [moit-cathinh] Huy Dương, Cá thính Lập Thạch, món ngon đặc trưng ở Vĩnh Phúc, Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam portal (moit.gov.vn), read 2026-10gov
  2. [vnn2013] VietnamNet 2013, Những món ngon không thể bỏ qua của Vĩnh Phúc (section on cá thính Lập Thạch)web
  3. [cdc-botulism] US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Botulism Preventiongov