The chubby Yuan Tai in "Detective Conan" has impressed many people because of his gluttony. His favorite food is eel rice. Not only that, but the Japanese people's love for eels can be seen in many Japanese film and television works. So what is the sacredness of this eel that has attracted so much love from the Japanese people?
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The purest aquatic creature in the world
Eel (mán) fish, scientific name eel. Aliases: White Eel, White Eel, River Eel, Blue Eel, Wind Bun, Japanese Eel. Eel refers to the general name of species belonging to the eel family. Also known as eel, it is a fish that looks like a long snake and has the basic characteristics of a fish. In addition, eels are similar to salmon and have migratory characteristics. Eels are snake-like fish, but without scales, and are generally produced in brackish and fresh water junctions.
The eel has a slender, cylindrical front end and gradually flattened laterally. The head is long and blunt, and the eye structure is complex, with two functions: color viewing during the day and light sensitivity at night.
The skin of the eel is composed of the outer skin and scales, the outer skin is divided into epidermis and dermis, the scales are small and oval, buried under the dermis, arranged in a mat-like arrangement, and the subcutaneous mucus glands of the whole body are developed. There is a lateral line system in the center of the two sides of the eel body, which plays a sensory role.
The olfactory nerve of eels is particularly developed and plays an important role in food hunting. Eels do not have a tongue, but their taste is very sensitive, using nerve endings in the mouth to identify food.
Eels are descending migratory fish. Spawning in the sea, the juveniles are transparent leaf eels, and in the spring, when the juveniles develop into juvenile eels, flocks of tourist rivers are fattened in tributaries or lakes, and after maturity, they swim down the river to the sea to breed. General nocturnal activities. It grows rapidly, and the meat is tender and fatty and nutritious. Artificial farming is now under way.
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Habits and growth
Eels prefer to live in clean, pollution-free waters and are the purest aquatic creatures in the world.
Eels have a wide range of salinity adaptations and can grow in both freshwater and marine water. Eels inhabit freshwater areas such as rivers, lakes and swamps, have cave habits, like to be afraid of light, like to feed in the shadows, have the characteristics of swimming backwards in groups of top water, and can escape along tiny water currents or wet passages in uncomfortable environments and seek a new living environment. In addition to the main respiratory effect of the gills, the skin of the eel also has a respiratory function when it is wet.
Eel life history
Eels prefer to live in clean, fresh, pH neutral water, and the dissolved oxygen in the water is most suitable at 5 to 12 mg/L. When the dissolved oxygen level drops to 0.7 mg/L, the eel begins to float, and when it drops to 0.5 mg/L, it will suffocate to death. Eels are broadly salinized, but eel fry have a pronounced tendency towards flow.
Eels are omnivorous, carnivorous fish, good at eating small fish shrimp, crabs, snails, clams, mussels, aquatic insects and carcasses of terrestrial animals. The diet of Japanese eel is very extensive, and its diet varies according to environmental conditions and the availability of food, which is omnivorous.
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No eels in summer
The Japanese believe that eels are the most "aphrodisiac tonic kidneys", and not eating eels is "a big regret in life". Since the Edo period, the Japanese have had a tradition of eating eels every year for 18 days before spring, summer, autumn, and winter. It is believed that eating eels in the summer can replenish vitality and make the body stronger.
From a scientific point of view, this is not without reason. Eels are indeed rich in nutrients, in addition to EPA and DHA and other deep-sea fish oil ingredients can provide brain nutrition to make people energetic, rich in collagen and trace elements also make eating eels like a recharge of electricity to the body, full of vitality.
Eel tempura
The following is an introduction to the method of Bunta's favorite eel.
1. Cut off the head and tail of the eel, spread out from the belly and spread on the board, cut into sections, carefully remove the hard thorns in the middle with a knife, leaving the hard thorns, and use forceps to pull out the fine thorns
2. Mix the June fresh Shanghai braised soy sauce, miso, peach house barbecue sauce, maltose and white sugar into a small non-stick pot, sprinkle with ginger, stir over low heat, cook until all ingredients are fused, slightly viscous and make a sauce
3. Use step 2 to prepare 1/2 of the sauce, pour over the raw eel meat and hard spines, and spread on both sides and marinate for 30 minutes
4. Put a little cooking oil in a pan, heat the oil slightly, add the marinated eel, fry until both sides are colored, and the meat is compact
5. Place the hard spines on the bottom, put the fish on top, and when eating, heat the remaining 1/2 amount of sauce slightly, pour over the grilled eel, and finally sprinkle with white sesame seeds
6. It looks a bit monotonous, so the corner of the plate is made of egg skin shreds to decorate, the whole egg is scattered, sieved, the flat bottom non-stick pan (do not put oil) is heated, pour in the egg liquid, turn the handle of the pot, so that all the egg liquid is evenly spread at the bottom of the pot, the egg liquid is dried, the egg skin is turned off the heat, the egg skin is rolled up and cut into fine wires, pulled loose, and shaped at will.