A wide range of products made by the fermentation of both
freshwater and marine organisms plays a fundamental role in
cuisines throughout Southeast Asia (which in this article also
includes Bangladesh), where they function principally as condimental
side dishes. The fermented fish products of the region are
examined here by country in terms of present-day geographical
distribution, type of raw material, processing techniques and
consumption patterns. Five types of product are examined :
shiokara, shiokara paste, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and shrimp sauce.
The wide range of fermented fish products made in Southeast
Asia can be classified strictly only by individual country or by
language grouping. Thus for the comparative purposes of this
article we have used a simple generic classification based on
both the nature of the final product and the method used to
prepare it.
The fermented product of fish and salt that preserves the
original whole of partial shape of the fish raw material yields
a product known as shiokara, which when comminuted by either
pounding or grinding yields shiokara paste. In this case the
final product has a condiment-like character, and can be easily
dissolved into a liquid. The liquid resulting from the fermentation
process yields a fish sauce. This same system of classification
is also applied, with qualification, to products prepared
from shrimp and other aquatic organisms. Other items, such as
rice bran and pineapple, for example, may be added to the
fish-salt mixture either to enhance the flavor of the final product,
to speed the fermentation process, or for a combination of both
objectives.
This is the fifth in a series of articles that reports the results
of a comprehensive field survey of fermented fish products
conducted by the authors in East and Southeast Asia during
the period 1982-85. The research was supported financially by
the Ajinomoto Co., of Tokyo. Previous articles have surveyed
the types of fermented fish products in Northeast Asia [石毛
(ISHIGE) 1986] and narezushi (fish fermented in the presence of
rice or another vegetable product) [石毛(ISHIGE) 1987], and
the ecological basis for the supply of raw materials from marine
[RUDDLE 1986] and freshwater [RUDDLE 1987] sources. The
final two papers in the series will examine, respectively, the
chemistry of fermented fish products and their dietary and
culinary roles, and the origins and distribution of these products.
東南アジアの魚酱 : 魚の発酵製品の研究（5）
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