Traditional food of the Yan family "shrimp seeds and shrimp spring"

When it was clear, it was time to eat shrimp seeds again. Shrimp seeds are actually shrimp eggs, in the eyes of gourmets, shrimp seeds are delicious things, can be used to enhance the taste.

Since in Lingnan, most areas will call eggs and eggs spring, such as eggs called chicken spring, shrimp seeds called shrimp spring, so it is often confused with real shrimp spring. In terms of appearance and taste, the two are indeed quite similar. Although shrimp spring is produced by planktonic crustaceans, it is not shrimp but is better than shrimp, but the protein content of shrimp spring is higher than that of shrimp.

Shrimp seeds are the most delicious

Shrimp spring is actually a water pod egg

Shrimp seeds are different from sea shrimp seeds and river shrimp seeds, sea shrimp seeds are slightly larger than river shrimp seeds, also known as shrimp eggs in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which is the eggs of sea white shrimp and other sea shrimp. In the Shangyu area, during the spring shrimp seed season, fishermen will go out to sea to catch shrimp, and hang a densely packed net on the fishing boat, which can drag up a large number of shrimp seeds. These shrimp seeds are white before they are ripe, but turn dark red after frying, and the seafood flavor is stronger.

Jiangsu and Zhejiang people are popular to use fresh shrimp seeds to fry leeks to eat. In Guangdong, shrimp seeds are usually taken out to dry and used to make noodles or soy sauce, called shrimp seed noodles and shrimp seed soy sauce. Shrimp seeds are usually blanched directly with fresh shrimp.

Nowadays, river shrimp seeds are most commonly produced, the former is freshwater shrimp, and the latter is produced at the junction of brackish water. In terms of food taste, cao shrimp seeds have the freshest taste, the entrance is crisp and sweet, its crispness is similar to crab seeds, and the oil is extremely fragrant.

The most easily confused with shrimp seeds is salted shrimp spring, which is brown in color, salty and fresh, with a sauce flavor, usually used to steam fish, or put into a dish to steam, add chives, sesame oil and mix well under rice. It is slightly different from the delicious and sweet taste of shrimp seeds. What few people know is that although salted shrimp spring has the word shrimp spring, it actually has nothing to do with shrimp.

Qu Dajun wrote in the "Guangdong New Language": "Shrimp spring is not the egg of shrimp. There are water hydras in the river, as large as beans, and their eggs are scattered and endless. The eggs of the new club are slightly thicker, the taste is good, the burn is red, and the red is bright and fatty and delicious. The second is the panyu deep well and the jiangle sea. There are several urns in the villages, which are pickled all year round, or into the bad, named mud shrimp. "And now, the output of Xinhui shrimp spring is no longer dominant, but most of the three places produced by Xinzuo, Shilou and Hualong, and the most delicious produced by Hualong, characterized by the slightly golden red color of the salted shrimp spring produced."

Around the winter solstice to the Spring Festival, it is the best fishing period for shrimp spring. In the past, due to the inconvenience of transportation, in order to preserve freshness, the Yan family would add salt to the shrimp spring, which is salted shrimp spring. When I was a child, I went to Panyu Shunde, and occasionally I could see the family's family boat carrying salted shrimp out in spring to sell. Only to see a black and dull tile tank on the bow, dock the boat at the end of the street and alley, and then shout loudly into the alley, the alley people smell the bowl rushed to the port, a few minutes in the corner can hold a large bowl, go home to cook steamed fish.

Salted shrimp spring is actually somewhat similar to Liyunzi, and also has a strong salty seafood flavor, which is suitable for steaming. However, after cleaning up, Li Yunzi can be steamed directly, and the salted shrimp spring should be marinated with salt and shochu for a week before it can be used for steaming. The most popular ingredient with it is yellow-footed carp, which is steamed with salted shrimp in spring, and the fresh sweetness is immediately upgraded to a higher level, while the salted shrimp spring that absorbs the fish juice is used for bibimbap, which can make people eat two large bowls in a row.