Unique and traditional Ban soy sauce of Hung Yen

Ban Soy sauce Village shot on the National Geographic Instagram account. Photo: Pham Ngoc Thach

The village is said to have its own traditional way of making the sauce which has gone through generations in Hung Yen. The use of rain water or water from a particular bore-well is said to be part of the “secret” behind this sauce, which is now known widely as tuong Ban (Ban soy sauce) or tuong lang Ban (Ban Village soy sauce).

Soybeans are soaked in water and dried before being baked well. Photo: VNA

Soya sauce makers have to wash the rice carefully then soak it in water and cooked into sticky rice, next scatter the sticky rice onto a large bamboo flat basket and dry it in an airy place until the rice turns yellow. Soy beans must be roasted until the bean is brown and then the beans are soaked in a clean jar for one week. After the beans have fermented, producers

Boiled rice is fermented in three days till it turns yellow with fungus. Photo: NDO

The soybeans are then baked with sand at a low temperature till they turn yellow with a sweet smell, and then being soaked again for a week. Photo: VNA

Mixing fermented rice. Photo: TTXVN

March to August is that time for the villagers, so expect to see hundreds of jars in diverse sizes filling yards in every household. Making soy sauce is not difficult but making Ban soy sauce is an art-form.

Photo: VNA

Fungus and salt is added, and the mixture is put in ceramic containers, covered tightly and dried in the sun for between two and six months. Some makers keep sauce up to two years

During the drying period, makers should stir the mixture every two days, but just for a minute. Photo: NDO

Sunlight is very important for sauce making process. The more sunlight it gets, the better taste it is. Photo: Pham Doan Quang

Ban Sauce in a traditional meals. Photo: Vietnamtourism.