Study Region ―――――――――――――
Mekong River runs through Indo-China peninsula. It originates Tibetan Highlands and goes
through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam before reaching South China Sea.
In this study, the focused areas are the river banks in Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, andwe studied from Northern areas where Laos, Thailand and Myanmar meet their borders, to Southernareas like Tonle Sap in Cambodia and river mouth in Soc Trang province in Vietnam (see Table 1and Figure 1).
Laos has large areas of its land in the riverbank of Mekong with the exception of northern most area.
The river makes borders between Thailand and Myanmar. In Thailand, the river basin includes
northern Chiang Rai and areas north up to border in addition to northeast regions. Most of theland in Cambodia is in Mekong River basin. The main stream runs through the country north tosouth, and it meets Tonle Sap River at Phnom Penh. After Phnom Penh, the river diverges intomain Mekong stream and Basak River towards Vietnam. They form great delta centering on SouthVietnam city of Can Tho flowing into South China Sea.
Table 1 List of major cities which Mizube no Sachi study was conducted(No. corresponds numbers in Figure 1).
No.
Country
1 Laos
2345Province
Bokeo
Bokeo
Louang Phrabang
Sainyabuli
V ientiane province

Citiy, village
Houayxay
Na Luang vill.
Louang Phrabang
Sainyabuli
V ang V ieng

6789101112
13

V ientiane capital，V ientiane province
Bolikhamsai
Bolikhamsai
Khammouane
Savannakhet
SalavanChampasakSekong

V ientiane
PaksanLak SaoThakhek
Savannakhet
SalavanPakseSekong

1415 Thailand
161718 Cambodia
1920Attapeu
Chiang Rai
Khon Kaen
Ubon Ratchathani
Ratanakiri
Stung Treng
KratieAttapeu
Chiang Rai
Khon Kaen
Ubon Ratchathani
Banlung
Stung Treng
Kratie2122232425262728

Kampong Cham
Siem Reap
Kampong Chhnang
Phnom Penh
Prey V eng
TakeoBattambang
PursatKampong Cham
Siem Reap
Kampong Chhnang
Phnom Penh
Prey V eng
TakeoBattambang
Pursat29 V ietnam
303132

Can Tho government-ruled municipality
An Giang
Soc Trang
Soc Trang

Can Tho
Chau Doc
Soc Trang
Cu Lao Dung

9Figure 1. Map of major cities the study was conducted10Seasons――――――――――――――

Majority of areas in Mekong river basin belong to tropics. Southwest wind in summer andnortheast wind in winter take over the region. Because of this monsoon effect, the peninsula has
distinct dry and wet seasons. Onset of each seasons vary from region to region, but in most areas,
wet season starts from late April to mid-May, and lasts until late October to early November.
Depending on precipitation, water level of Mekong River changes between the two seasons. InTonle Sap Lake in Cambodia, the water flows out to Tonle Sap River then into Mekong Riverduring dry season, but as the water level rises in Mekong during wet season, water flows backwards
into Tonle Sap Lake. During the heaviest precipitation period, area of the lake expands more than
five times than that of dry season. Water depth also increases to four to ten times more than anyseason. In Laos, the study team was told the seasonal difference of Mekong’s water level becomes
15m in Louang Phrabang, 10m in Vientiane, and 12m in Pakse.
Distinctive seasonal changes have large impact on the ecosystem of organisms in the region.
Termites start to fly and Lethocerus begin to lay eggs as soon as the first rain of wet season falls.
As the water rises, wet areas expand and enable some fish to swim into paddies and wetlands to layeggs. During dry season, when the paddies are dry, aquatic lives migrate to wetter condition. Inpaddies when it’s dry, one can see some fish which could not escape in time in paddles or see pondsnail burying itself in mud in order for them to keep remaining moisture. There might be a few
tens of diving beetle, huddling in the last oasis of paddles. People along Mekong are well adapted
to the seasonal changes and pay close attention to it.
People in farmland are especially aware ofwhich Mizube no Sachi is in season. Rain sometimes brings flood damages, but at the same time,
it is a blessing from nature so that organisms and people can sustain lives and culture in the area.
Seasonal change nourishes Mizube no Sachi. At one time, the study team came across an area
where roads and houses had been flooded by water rise during wet season. There seemed to be noresidents who were disturbed by the fact and they simply went to get their fishing poles and nets
and began fishing in flooded road. It seemed that average yearly overflow of river is more or lessexpected event as a part of life and people try to take advantage of it. This cultural value of “goingwith the flow” gave us basic insight when researching Mizube no Sachi.

People fishing in flooded road side 10 Sep. 2007 Vientiane Capital, Laos11

Local Markets ――――――――――――
Due to intense sun shine and high temperature, Market sellers in Mekong river basin develop
various methods to keep their produce fresh. It is essential to start markets early in the morningwhen the sun and temperature are still low. Some markets have both or either morning andevening market depending on the locations, but most of fresh caught fish and plant produce arebeing sold in the morning. As the sun gradually increases its intensity, the sellers put over shadeand splash water on the produce and ground to keep them from wilting. It is best to sell them all
as early as possible for the benefit of both sellers and customers who are looking for fresh produce.
Some stores are open into afternoon, but there are hardly any fresh produce and if any, most plants
have been wilted so one would hardly see a customer.
[Preserving food]
Generally, local markets in inland Mekong river basin are not equipped with ample refrigeration
facility. Therefore, small aquatic lives such as fish, frogs, and crabs are brought alive and sold.
Although it is not Mizube no Sachi, live saltwater Bloody clam Tegillarca granosa, can be seen ininland markets, because people know it can sustain life longer because of hemoglobin presence init.
Dead animals should be sold immediately, or if they are harvested regularly, they are dried orsmoked. The team observed dried fish related to snakehead and drum, and they tasted very salty.
Some frogs are dried on skewers. One other method to preserve fresh produce is fermentation.
Traditionally there are many fermented food, using fish, small shrimps, legumes, and grains in
Mekong river basin, but we were not able to do detailed research in this study. Given theimportance status as Mizube no Sachi, we believe the fermented food can be another category itself
when studying about Mizube no Sachi. We leave it as a future project. Following section
describes general fermented and dried food.
[Seasonal, Local, Taste preferences]
Items found in market have seasonal variety. Because there is distinct dry and wet periods,animals or plant buds, fruits and flowers differ according to the seasons. For example, honey fromgiant honeybee (Apis dorsata) and sugar from sugar palm (Borassus flabellifer) can only be foundin dry season.
There are also geographic variety. Yanan (Tiliacora triandra) is a popular plant used in Thailandand Laos when boiling bamboo shoots. But it is not seen as soon as you cross the border toCambodia, and instead, Cambodians use a plant called Ngop (Sauropus androgynus) for the samepurpose. In Laos, insects are popular food source and one sees large variety and amount of insects
being sold. But in Cambodia, majority of people say they do not eat insects. It is true that cicadaand stinkbug are not sold in Cambodian market, but cricket, giant water bug, predaceous diving
beetle are still popular, and even winged termites are eaten as annual seasonal prized food.
Weaver ant is an essential part of making Cambodian soup. Overall, there are country andregional difference in terms of levels of assimilation, but we can say that using insect as food is ashared culture along Mekong river shed.
12

Furthermore, not all people eat all the food you see on the market. We heard different opinions on
taste preference of larva of horned dung beetle, and large snails, or stalk of very bitter yam plant.
When a large live jewel beetle was on a market, some people purchase it as food while others do so
as a toy for children.
[Mammals and Birds]
Wild bird and mammals are commonly seen in many markets in mountain areas. Trading someanimals is illegal. Therefore, sellers tend to hide them from the sight of foreigners like us, or they
don’t allow any pictures to be taken. We wanted to maintain friendly relationship with locals, so
we have excluded those animals from research target. Moreover, it was not clear if they can be
included within category of Mizube no Sachi, the only applicable definition of which, can be“caught easily with minimum time spent.”

27 May 2009

Tha Heua Market, Louang Phrabang, Laos

24 Nov. 2009

Vang Vieng Market, Vientiane Provine, Laos13

Traditional Cooking ――――――――――<Fish sauce>
Fish sauce is a fermented food which is made by salting fish and other shellfish, then leaving themfor a while to let the enzyme work on the process of fermentation. It is used in daily life inMekong river basin and so it is one of most essential seasoning when talking about food culture inthis area. In inland Mekong river shed, freshwater fish is abundant and it is used for making fishsauce. They are called Nam pa in Laos and NE Thailand, or Nam pla in other parts of Thailand,
Tuk trey in Cambodia. Many of them are in a glass jar and manufactured in factories. Fish sauce
is used to season soups, noodles and other dishes. It is usually set on tables of eateries.
While fish sauce is widely available commercially, there is homemade seasoning called Pa daek(NE Thai and Laos), Pla ra (Central Thai), Pa ha (Northern Thai), Pra hoc (Cambodia). Theseare paste fish sauce, and are very versatile. Not only is it used as seasoning, it can be served as aside either as it is of mixed with herbs or used in main ingredients of main dishes. This homemade
fish sauce is usually made from freshwater fish, and quite often the entire process of making thesauce (catching fish to final sauce) takes place at home. The broth, byproduct of making the paste
is called Nam pa daek (in Laos, NE Thai), Nam pla ra (central Thai), Nam pa ha (Northern Thai),Tuk trey (Cambodia), and is also used as seasoning.
People who make homemade fish sauce are not very many in urban areas of Thailand, but it is stillcommonly made in NE Thai, Laos and Cambodia as an essential seasoning. There are many otherkinds of fish sauce using saltwater fish, shrimps, and crabs.

Fish paste (Pa daek)

Making home made fish sauce

14<Fermented Sushi>
Fermented Sushi is a fermented food either commercially or homemade. Most of the time, it ismade by lactic fermentation of salted freshwater fish and steamed sweet rice. Often times, it ismade by whole or cut fish which is scaled and cleaned while others use minced fish, fish mixedwith organs, or fish eggs. Family Cyprinidae of and order of Catfish are often used as main
ingredients and other kinds like Family Osphronemidae or Channidae are used. There is anothertype of fermented food commonly known as Som pa (Laso, NE Thai), Pa som (NEThai), Pla som(Thailand), Pa mam (Thailand), Pa chao (NE Thai, Northern Thai), Phaak (Cambodia). Sommeans sour in Lao and Thai, and Pa or Pla means fish. It literally tastes like what it says. It canbe eaten raw but as a sanitary precaution, people often heat it up to serve.

Many kinds of fermented Sushi sold in markets

Fermented Sushi of fish eggs

<Dried, Smoked food>Large catch of fish and frogs are often dried and smoked to enable longer storage. The fishes offamily Cyprinidae and order Siluriformes are commonly used as well as other large and small fish.
As for frogs, Hoplobatrachus rugulosus and Fejervarya limnocharis are most commonly used.
Smoked and dried goods are served after heating, stir-frying, or frying.

variety of smoked fish

Smoked frogs

15

<Cheo (Nam prik)>
A type of paste made by sautéing and mixing main ingredients, chili, green onion, shallots, andherbs, seasoned with fish sauce, salt, or MSG. It is called cheo in NE Thai and Laos, Nam prik inother parts of Thailand with variety of ingredients. Main ingredients can be giant water bug, stinkbug, cricket, mole cricket, frogs, fish, and mushrooms. The simpler form of cheo which can bemade by fish sauce and chili. This is more liquid and since it is easier to make, it is widely
incorporated into home cooking. Cheo is often eaten by dipping steamed sweet rice as swell as
raw vegetables cooked fish and meat, or put in soup and noodles. It is essential in home cooking
in Laos and Thailnad.

Cheo of stink bug

Cheo is often eaten as a dip for sweet rice

<Lap, Koi>
These are local favorites in Laos, NE Thai, and Northern Thai. It is a kind of salad with mincedmeat or fish mixed with herbs, rice flour, chili, dried onion, and seasoning. Seasoned with fishsauce, salt or lime. Knifefish’s lap is the most famous among freshwater fish lap. Lap and Koi arevery similar.

Koi of weaver ant

Koi of Nile tilapia

16

<Mok>
Lao cuisine of aquatic animals, steamed in banana leaf. Main ingredient is seasoned with herbs,chili, salt and fish sauce. Small aquatic animals such as small fish, aquatic insects, tadpoles areoften cooked this way.

ingredients are wrapped in banana leaf

Mok with small fish, frogs, aquatic insects and shrimp

17

18