Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Wang Min
Many people may not know that China is a big producer of eels, and more than 80% of eels in the international market come from China.
At the turn of summer and autumn every year, it is the best time for eels, and eels are beginning to reserve fat for migration, and the fat is evenly distributed, like the frosted beef in fish, fresh and sweet.
The mountain spring is now boiled with original Yuhara fresh
The Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter noted that the cooking method of eel in China is getting closer and closer to "Chinese food", and innovative eel dishes that are improved according to the tastes of the Chinese people are emerging in an endless stream.
This year's Eel Festival at Putian Restaurant continues to select "export grade" eels from Shunde, each of which arrives alive. In previous years, the popular "mountain spring boiled live eel" continues to play the leading role this year, and only live eels dare to boil in water.
Mountain spring boiled eel
The so-called "water out of the hibiscus", the original taste of simple cooking, is the greatest respect for fresh ingredients. Don't think that "simple cooking" means "simple", from catching eels to slaughtering eels is very kung fu. Only to see the chef quickly grab a smooth and greasy eel, put it in hot water for 10 seconds and then immediately take it out, rub off the white mucous membrane of the eel's skin with his bare hands, and then put the eel on the board, swim away with the tip of the knife against the fish's spine, quickly remove the bone and flesh, and the whole process flows smoothly.
In order to maintain the original flavor of live eel, "mountain spring boiled live eel" moves the cooking process from the kitchen to the table. When serving, the waiter serves a full set of ingredients and stoves, and the cut live eel skin is blue and blue, the fish body is soft and elastic, and if it is fresh, the color is dull.
Pour in the mountain spring water until the eels are completely submerged
Inside the transparent pot, eels dance with the boiling water of the spring
The clerk first puts the eel pieces and goji berries and ginger slices into the pot, and then pours two bottles of Putian Wuyifeng Mountain Spring Water until the eels are completely submerged. Inside the transparent pot, you can observe the eels dancing with the boiling water of the spring, and the fragrant steam in the pot stirs the diners. After 10 minutes, the mountain spring water gradually changes to a pale eel clear soup, at which time a little seasoning is added to add freshness, and the aroma is rich and attractive.
When tasting, remember to drink the soup while it is hot, and then eat the eel. Take a bite of the tight flesh of the eel, first the fish is fresh, and the fish oil that gradually seeps out makes the eel meat more and more fragrant, seemingly plain but full of surprise.
Three sauces out of the way each has a "eel" wonderful
If it is said that "mountain spring boiled live eel" is unpowded plain, the other three eel festival dishes are selected from three Putian homemade sauces, with their own flavors.
The most Fujian style is the "red eel", red raspberry is specially produced in Fujian, is a derivative of the fermentation of red yeast wine, 5% of the red yeast has a natural red yeast rice, with a unique bad smell, but also to the food stained with a touch of yin red. "Red Eel" is a classic Fujian dish, with a mellow and wine-scented red eel fillet wrapped in freshly fried eel fillet, which blends crisp, fragrant and creamy.
Fujian characteristic red eel
Puning bean sauce baked eel
After the fermentation of Puning bean sauce and fish fresh is a perfect match, "Puning bean sauce baked eel" can extract the umami taste, plus the smooth eel, the bottom pad put putian specialty rotten skin, absorb the sauce more and more fragrant.
Steamed eel with garlic tempeh
This year's new dish "garlic tempeh steamed eel", the secret garlic tempeh sauce has been mixed dozens of times, and the rich and fragrant sauce greatly enhances the deliciousness of the eel.
Eel farming country exports two booming domestic sales
According to the public information of the General Administration of Customs, the mainland is the largest country in eel farming, with a wide variety of breeding types, with an annual aquaculture output of more than 230,000 tons, accounting for about 80% of the world's total aquaculture output. The main production areas of domestic eels are mostly in Guangdong, Fujian and other places, with the title of "China's eel town" Shunde, in the peak period of exports, eel products export volume and export value accounted for one-fifth of the country.
Summer and autumn are the best time for eels
Don't look at the eel so common on the dinner table, in fact, the cultivation of an eel has to go through many twists and turns.
According to industry insiders, eels have not been able to really achieve artificial farming so far, and almost all farmed fish are the only fish species that rely entirely on fishing wild fry. The fishing process can be said to be a "needle in a haystack", each eel fry is only the size of a toothpick, the whole body is transparent, known as 'glass eel', fishermen need to use special tools to achieve. Due to the difficulty of fishing and the harvest by providence, the price of eel fry is high, ranging from more than ten yuan to dozens of yuan per bar, which can be called "soft gold".
Eel breeding base
A takeaway platform released data in April this year that more than 500,000 "eel depth enthusiasts" will eat eel at least three times a month in 2021, an increase of more than 75% compared with 2020. Eel dishes showed explosive growth in China, with more than 60,000 eel-related dish varieties in 2021, an increase of 66% over 2019. The number of eel-related catering merchants increased by more than 14% for two consecutive years.
(For more news, please pay attention to Yangcheng Pie pai.ycwb.com)
Source | Yangcheng Evening News Yangcheng Pie
Image | Respondents provided
Editor-in-charge | Chen Yuxia
Proofreading | Zhu Xiaoming