Catfish Juice and Wind Blowing Cake of Gin Ethnic Group

Daily Dietary Habits of the Gin People

Rice serves as the staple food of the Gin people. During New Year’s Day and various traditional festivals, they have the custom of consuming polished glutinous rice and sweet candy porridge. Endowed with unique coastal geographical conditions, the Gin people take abundant seafood as their main source of meat, with various fishes and shrimps dominating their daily diet. Among all seasonings, they have a special preference for catfish juice, a distinctive local condiment. In addition, Wind Blowing Cake is another iconic traditional snack favored by the Gin people.

Production and Classification of Catfish Juice

Catfish juice (鲶鱼汁), also widely known as Fish Dew (鱼露), is a signature fermented condiment pickled with small coastal fishes. The optimal production period falls within the fishing season from March to June of the lunar calendar. Its manufacturing technique is both simple and sophisticated, adhering to inherited traditional procedures.

Standard Production Procedures

The production process follows fixed traditional steps. Firstly, straw and sand bags are laid at the bottom of a large tile jar to form a professional filtering layer. A small hole is drilled at the base of the jar, fitted with a tiny bamboo or rubber tube as the drainage pipe for fish juice. Afterwards, clean small fishes and salt are placed into the jar layer by layer in a precise proportion of three to two. Once the jar is fully filled, a heavy large stone is placed on the top to compact the ingredients tightly. Finally, the jar is fully covered and sealed for natural fermentation.

Three Grades of Fermented Catfish Juice

After five to seven days of complete fermentation, the stopper of the drainage pipe is opened, allowing the fermented fish juice to flow out continuously. The first batch of outflowing liquid is named “Initial Leaking Juice”. It features a bright golden color and rich, mellow fragrance, ranking as the highest-grade catfish juice. This premium condiment is specially reserved for entertaining distinguished guests.
After the first extraction, cooled boiled salt water is poured into the jar. With continuous pressing and filtering, the second batch of extracted liquid is obtained as “Second-time Leaking Juice”. Though its color, aroma and taste are slightly inferior to the initial juice, it is still high-quality fish dew and mostly exported to overseas markets.
The third extraction after repeated pressing and filtering produces “Third-time Leaking Juice”, which is classified as low-grade fish dew. This grade is rarely circulated in commercial markets and is mainly retained for daily use by local families.

Economic Value and Regional Reputation

Boasting a clear golden appearance and fresh, savory taste, catfish juice has become an indispensable daily seasoning for the Gin people. It enjoys a high reputation in Southeast Asian countries including Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia, maintaining steady sales in overseas markets.
The production and sales of catfish juice bring considerable economic income to local Gin families. A single fermentation jar can yield more than one hundred jin of finished catfish juice. Among the three major Gin inhabited islands, Shanxin Village boasts the largest output and finest quality of catfish juice, earning itself the well-known reputation of “Hometown of Catfish Juice”.

Traditional Making Craft of Wind Blowing Cake

Wind Blowing Cake (风吹饼) is a unique traditional rice-based snack of the Gin people, famous for its exquisite texture and special making techniques. The whole production process is purely handmade with rigorous traditional steps.
Firstly, clean rice is soaked in hot water until fully softened, then finely ground into a smooth thick rice slurry. The well-blended slurry is ladled into aluminum trays with a diameter of 40 to 50 centimeters and steamed into ultra-thin, film-like rice crusts. A moderate amount of sesame seeds is evenly scattered on the surface of the fresh steamed crusts. Subsequently, the rice crusts are placed on bamboo screens and slowly dried with charcoal fire.
The finished Wind Blowing Cake is extremely light, thin and nearly transparent, so delicate that it seems to flutter away in the wind, which gives the snack its vivid name. It delivers a crispy and fragrant taste with a lingering aftertaste.

Extended Cuisine and Festival Application

Based on the original Wind Blowing Cake, the Gin people have created an innovative local delicacy. If the steamed thin rice crusts are cut into fine threads, they turn into special rice vermicelli. Combined with fresh spiral shell meat, crab meat, dried sipunculid worms and fresh shrimps, the rice threads are boiled into a hearty specialty known as cake-thread seafood soup. The soup features tender texture, rich seafood aroma and sweet umami taste.
As a representative top-grade delicacy of the Gin people, both Wind Blowing Cake and seafood vermicelli soup are specially prepared to honor guests during festivals and important gatherings, embodying the unique dietary culture and hospitality of the Gin community.