Ayu loved by Japan's first gourmet

Author: Old Botou

Ayu, also known as sesame oil fish and melon fish. This fish is only thirty centimeters in size, and the other river fish are fishy, but the ayu is fresh and smells of cucumber. Ayu was made with oil all over its body and has been a valuable ingredient since ancient times.

The origin is very small, mostly distributed in the streams through the sea in China and Japan, and the seeds are produced in autumn, so it is also called autumn raw fish, after which it is weak, that is, it dies, and there is only one year of life before and after, so it is also called Nianyu.

The Japanese call ayu catfish catfish, and I don't know if it is derived from the "Nian fish". However, the Japanese word for "catfish" is pronounced Ayu, which should be more to describe the ayu fish like catfish, which has the habit of occupying a plate.

However, ayu is completely unrelated to catfish, the former being a type of courgette.

The Chinese-made ayu is best in the Nanxi River. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a poetry cloud: "The Nanjiang River is all fishing habitats, and the area around Liumo Qingxi is sparse, so it is good that after the sun and rain, the mangrove trees in the banjiang river sell ayu." "The locals tame cormorants to catch fish, or simply hand-fish them, a tradition that neighboring Japan also preserves.

The Japanese love ayu, which is really worth a try and will be addictive. Known as Japan's first oldest foodie, Lushan, is a veritable ayu addict, and his cooking notes contain countless records of ayu, excerpted below:

"The consumption period of ayu fish starts from the juvenile fish to the beginning of July, and when it grows to the size of the mackerel, the taste becomes worse, and it is best before spawning."

"Each origin has special dishes with different names, but they are not far from their origins, that is, the sweet fish that can be caught and eaten, how to prepare it is also delicious."

"The ayu that retains the fish intestines is the best product. Ninety-nine percent of the ayu bought in Tokyo have been removed from the fish intestines. ”

"The preferred ice water treatment method is used for the processing of live ayu fillets, and one fish can be cut into four to six slices. The cutting method of the bone is secondary. ”

"Fresh ayu should be grilled with salt, and slightly inferior ones should be grilled with sauce." Salt grilled ayu should be eaten from the beginning, and the brain marrow is very tasty. While eating and deboning, the fish intestines are delicious. ”

"Ayu porridge is only inferior to river bream porridge, and it is also the king of braised porridge, the flavor of the Gifu area. Cook the ayu in the porridge, hold the fish head in one hand, and peel off the fish with chopsticks in the other hand. ”

"Grilled ayu and grilled tofu are cooked together, and it's a good dish."

"When the ayu arrives, it is the best eclipse of the day, and once it is raised, the fat in the internal organs is reduced, and it is not delicious."

For salt-grilled ayu, Lushan people have the most experience, he said:

"The average family doesn't do well to grill ayu. Of course, the charcoal with a loose texture is not good, the fish tail is grilled paste, the fish body is scorched black, and the good things are wasted, just like turning the world's beauty into an ugly woman, and it is very unhappy. ”

"The two key points of grilled ayu are skewers and heat. Use a strong fire on the abdomen and an ember on the tail, otherwise the tail fin will be burned and lose its physical beauty. ”

There are many ayu producing areas in Japan, so where is the first place? The view of the Lushan people is:

"The prestigious Gifu ayu is not the best in my opinion. Kyoto's Ayu in Hozugawa is good, but Tokyo can't count on it. ”

"The Tama River also produces ayu, and because of the water quality, the taste does not dare to compliment." Nikko Otanigawa is acceptable, but only local, and it changes its flavor as soon as you get to Tokyo. ”

"The best ayu is produced in Tanba's Wachikawa, and there is no one in the world."

Wild ayu is becoming less and less common, and the Japanese were the first to invent the method of farming, and today most of them are raised in Taiwan and Zhejiang. The Lushan people have their own set of sayings, "Wild ayu is slender, with a golden yellow color, and the farmed ayu is thick and short, and the whole is cyan, which can be seen at a glance." And the farmed ayu does not have a cucumber aroma, but has a sardine smell, and it cannot be saved when grilled. ”

The old man swallowed countless ayu in his life, and there was a food writer Murai who said nonsense about what Tokyoites love to eat clean, and then remove the intestines of the ayu. The Lushan people, who love the internal organs of ayu, were furious and deliberately wrote an article to scold Murai to the point of spewing dog blood. I wait for the younger generations to introduce the ayu, or honestly copy the scriptures, otherwise it is possible to jump out of the ground in anger of the old man.