In the land of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, there is such a dish, called "opium fish head". Don't rush to the police first, this is not a profiteer who put a big smoke in the fish's head, and this "opium" is not a drug made from poppies. The correct way to break the sentence of these four words is opium fish-head. The so-called opium fish is our protagonist today, the Turbot (Paralichthys olivaceus).
Turbot. Image: blog.travair.jp
Left turbot, right flounder, left tongue right flounder, are called flounder
Turbot, belonging to the flounder Pleuronectiformes (Turbot family Paralichthyidae). The most unique feature of the whole flounder is that their two eyes are located on the same side of the body, so the whole flounder has the common name of "flounder". The ancients believed that the eyes of this type of fish were on one side of the body, so it was necessary to swim together in two to see the objects on both sides. There is a record in the "Erya Shidi" that "there is a flounder in the East, not a halibut", which shows the name of flounder, but it is an old name with a history of more than 2,500 years.
The image of a flounder in Arya Shidi. Photo: Zoological Chronicles of China
Since the two fish are required to "walk in comparison", it means that among the flounders, there are eyes on the left side of the body and some on the right side of the body. The ancients were right to observe, but the conclusions were wrong. In fact, which side of the body the eye is on is one of the important features that distinguish flounder fish. There is a recipe: left turbot right flounder, left tongue right flounder, the image outlines the main taxa of flounder fish: turbot, flounder, tongue ray, the position of the eyes of the ray relative to the body.
The difference between turbot and flounder. Image: img01.vietnhat.tv
Flounders don't look crooked from a young age
Turbot, as the name suggests, is the "turbot with tusks". Since it is a turbot, it means that the eyes of the turbot are on the left side of the body, so the turbot also has the common name of "left mouth". Teeth refer to turbots with several large, sharp canine teeth in their large mouths, a feature that unabashedly shows the turbot's feeding habits— ferocious carnivorous fish.
Turbot with large mouth and sharp teeth. Image: httpphotohito.com
Like other flounders, turbot eyes are not initially on one side. The newly hatched turbot, like the juveniles of other fish, has eyes on either side of the body. But about 20 days after hatching, the skull begins to grow asymmetrically, pushing the right eye to the left side of the body, and after about two weeks, both eyes are on the same side of the body, and the lifestyle shifts from suspended and swimming life in the water to benthic life.
Changes in the position of the eyes of the turbot juveniles. Photo: Zoological Chronicles of China
In fact, all flounder fish, including turbots, with their flattened features with their eyes on one side of their bodies, evolved to accommodate their benthic, sneaky predation, and other habits. In the case of turbot, for example, it has a dark brown body color on the left side of the eye, and it also has rings and spots of different sizes, such a "natural camouflage" coupled with a flat body, so that it can hide in the sediment on the seabed, while the two eyes located on the side of the body can keenly stare at small fish, crustaceans and other prey. When the unknowing prey approaches, the turbot swallows the prey into the stomach with a large mouth and sharp teeth.
Benthic turbots in ponds. Image: applenet.jp
The ferocious gluttonous habit makes the turbot one of the largest flounders in the northwest Pacific Ocean from china's coastal waters to the coast of Japan, with a body length of usually 40 to 80 cm and a longest record of up to 1.2 meters. Such a huge size has naturally become a target that gourmets can't miss, of course, turbot has also lived up to expectations, and has become a valuable edible fish with delicious meat.
Turbot is an important fishing species off the coast of Japan. Image: ohmoriboat.com
Advocating the original taste of marine fish
In China, turbot is mostly eaten steamed, braised and even chopped pepper. In Japan, which advocates the original taste of marine fish, turbot has more unique oriental styles. In Japan, turbot is known as Hirame (Hirame) and is an important member of the white-bodied fish. Turbot migrates to the northern western Pacific ocean around the Yellow Sea-Bohai-Sea of Japan in the summer, and is most fatty and delicious when eaten.
Turbot in Hiroshige Ando's painting. The blackfish in front is the Koh's flat carp. Image: japaneseprints-london.com
The most representative of Japanese cuisine is naturally sashimi and sushi, and turbot is a good ingredient for making sashimi and sushi in white body fish. Quickly peeling a freshly caught turbot, cutting it into thin slices to make sashimi, or making it into a grip sushi can make people experience the texture of the turbot's fresh elastic teeth for the first time.
Turbot sashimi. Image: pref.aomori.lg.jp
Turbot sushi. Image: japanese-school-asahi.com
In addition to raw food, in Japan, turbot is also practiced quite a bit of cooked food. One of the most typical is the frying method. Because turbot meat contains a certain amount of fat, after frying, the fat in the meat is heated and oozing out, which makes the turbot more plump, and with the special fried sauce, it is a different flavor.
Fried turbot meat. Image: blogs.c.yimg.jp
Of course, there is also a classic way to eat that prefers a light taste, that is, steamed and eaten with kelp and marinade. The white flesh, combined with the mild saltiness of the kelp and sauce, sets off the umami flavor of turbot meat. Turbot also offers a unique ingredient: skirts. This skirt is not the skirt of a turtle, but specifically refers to the tissue that surrounds the body of the fish and is used to swing the fins to swim. The skirt of the turbot has no taste when it is first introduced, but with continuous chewing, the unique freshness of the turbot skirt gradually spreads in the mouth, and the taste and taste are unforgettable.
Steamed turbot meat with sauce kombu. Image: ouchigohan.recipes
"Opium fish" is both a fact and a gimmick
There is a saying along the coast of Shandong and Jiangsu in China: one turbot, two mirrors, three rays. Turbot refers to turbot, while mirror and rays refer to pomfret and tongue carp, respectively. Turbot can be ranked first, which shows that the vast number of working people affirm its quality. Legend has it that because of the delicious flesh of the turbot, people who have tasted it have fallen in love with this fish like smoking opium, so it is called "opium fish". Of course, this statement is more like a rumor in the city, not enough to believe, because the turbot in different regions, as well as yakata, tooth slices and other aliases, are close to the pronunciation of "turbot", so the name of "opium fish" is more likely to be mispronounced. However, the word "opium fish" is indeed eye-catching, and some traders use this name to make a big news in order to attract customers, which also makes the name more and more widespread.
Steamed turbot. Image: pic.qingdaonews.com
Due to the natural nature of flounders' lateral flattening, the two sides of the turbot spine, especially the ocular side, are almost a large piece of complete fish meat, and even better, there are no annoying intermuscular spines. Therefore, with only a little treatment and steaming, you can taste the tender flesh of the turbot. Due to the large size of the turbot, people usually treat the fish head separately, and this fish head has become the famous "opium fish head". Whether it is braised or chopped pepper, it is delicious and unusual.
Chop pepper opium fish head. Note that what is used here is not the head of a turbot. Image: img03.tooopen.com
Biology is not well learned, and eating a fish will be fooled
However, it should be noted that many of the opium fish heads on the market today do not come from turbots, but from hippoglossus sp. in the Atlantic ocean or Atheresthes stomias in Alaska. The flounder is much larger than the turbot, and its length is often close to 2 meters. Most of the flounder's body is cut into pieces and sold, the so-called "flat cod" is it, and its head is supplied to the market as an "opium fish head". However, it is easy to distinguish, after all, the left turbot and the right flounder, the so-called "opium head" with both eyes on the right side of the body, must be a mediocre flounder or arrow-toothed flounder.
Mediocrity flounder. Image: kames.co.uk
Moreover, as the top product of flounder, the price of turbot is somewhat expensive, so some Japanese restaurants will also use flounder with slightly inferior quality instead. In Japan, flounder is known as カレイ (karei) and is often eaten as a grill instead of turbot. Therefore, before eating, first carefully look at the position of the fish's eyes, and judge whether it is a flounder or a turbot. This is one of the reasons why foodies want to learn taxonomy!