People use "gel", "tofu" and "snot" to describe the tenderness of this fish...
Dragon head fish, which we often call "tofu fish", is a fish that lives in the middle and lower layers of the seawater, and is common in Zhejiang and Fujian. Dragon head fish is a kind of informal-looking fish, the back of the head is brown and gray belly milky, the skin is soft like gelatin, so delicate body but there is a contrasting ferocious mouth, two jaws densely covered with small and sharp teeth, at first glance like the legendary dragon head, "dragon head fish" hence the name.
Chaoshan people used to call the dragon head fish "tenant fish" or "temple fish", which is a kind of witty ridicule, the original word of the temple is "橂 [diàn]", the original meaning of the object is solid enough, but here it is used to describe the soft body of the dragon head fish, the Chaoshan people are really interesting. In addition to the fish mouth, the dragon head fish is tender and soft all around, and there is a saying in the Chaoshan saying called "the temple fish hard mouth", which is analogous to the dragon head fish only has the hardest characteristics of the mouth, satirizing those who only move their mouths and do not move their hands.
This fish has only one main bone, and the main bone is soft, and the rest of the fish bone is as soft as a beard, so people in Liushi, Taizhou, Wenzhou, and Lishui in Southern Zhejiang province call it water, that is, it is as soft as water. Omnivorous, feeding on small fish, shrimp and benthic animals.
The Cantonese also called it "dog mother fish" or "dog spit fish", which is called "nine spit fish" or "nine belly fish" according to the harmonic sound. In the Ming Dynasty's "SeaFood Suoyin", it is said that the dragon head fish is "rich as muscle, soft as boneless, milky snow mountain bowl bottom, crisp jade door guanwai", such a gorgeous word, are to describe its tenderness, therefore, the dragon head fish is also commonly known as "tofu fish", "gel fish" and "snot fish".
Dragon head fish is a typical "dog sleepy fish", and the same pomfret is also known as "dog sleepy fish" in the folk, although the name is indecent, it is actually a kind of praise. Because the meat of the pomfret is more and less prickly, people rarely spit out the fish bones when eating the pomfret, and the Wang Xing people who lie on the side and wait to pick up food are sleepy and sleepy. The dragon head fish is more than enough, its whole body is tender and soft, and even the only spine it has may as well be swallowed. The meat of the dragon head fish is watery, difficult to store, and used to be made into dried fish.
Fresh dragon head fish with a string through the mouth of the fish string, hanging in the ventilation place natural drying, is the whole body of the golden "wind gurgling"; the dragon head fish with heavy salt marinated and then dried, is the famous "dragon head fish", suitable for stewing with meat, a section of fried dragon head fish can be the next bowl of rice, the so-called "wine squid, the next rice dragon head salmon", Ningbo people must understand.
In the old days, the dragon head fish could not ascend to the hall of elegance, and the Qing Dynasty's "Hundred and One Records of Sea Mistakes" described it like this: "Temple fish, sea fish under the product, the eater shame." Pickling market per kilogram of more than ten wen, poor people's sleeves return", to the effect that: dragon head fish in the past was a kind of low-grade seafood, in the peak season, each kilogram is only ten yuan, people who eat it will feel very depressed, often bought hidden in the sleeve secretly take home.
Nowadays, with the depletion of traditional sea resources such as large and small yellow croaker, pomfret, striped fish and cuttlefish along the coast of China, the dragon head fish is increasingly appearing on the menu of high-end restaurants.
Dragon head fish is rich in protein and has the ability to maintain potassium and sodium balance; eliminates edema. Improves immunity. Lower blood pressure , buffer anemia, is conducive to growth and development. Rich in cholesterol, it maintains the stability of cells and increases the flexibility of blood vessel walls. Helps regulate human heart activity, lower blood pressure, prevent heart disease. Regulates nerve and muscle activity and enhances endurance.
Article Source: Warm Food Home