Climbing perch. (Photo/Photo from Weibo)
Once regarded as the mysterious killer who destroyed Australia's ecology, "Climbing Perch", it has become a new darling of Chinese cuisine in recent years! Climbing perch has a peculiar appearance, not only can swing forward on the ground, but also sleep in the mud, but also known as "walking strange fish", and now become Xishuangbanna's famous "rich fish species", many restaurants have introduced, attracting gourmets to taste, it is said that the taste is very delicious.
According to the "Daily Headlines", climbing perch is one of the common ingredients of the Dai people, in addition to the internal organs, other parts of the whole body can be eaten, as long as it is cooked properly, fish scales and fish bones can be eaten. In Dai cuisine, pan perch can be made into a cold mix of raw fish, fried fish skin, fish bones or complete grilled fish, which is very delicious.
According to the report, the climbing perch cannot be handled in the usual way of handling fish, because it is very likely to stab the chef, it must first be placed flat on the cutting board, put on thick rubber gloves in both hands, fix the tail with a spoon and other items, and knock it out with a wooden mallet in the other hand, and wait until the dorsal fin is relaxed before cutting the scales.
Because of its hard size and difficult to handle, many people do not understand that the climbing perch "has something to eat", so it once became an endangered species. Until the locals in Xishuangbanna "successfully developed", everyone knew that the nutritional value of the original climbing perch was extremely high, the fish contained rich ingredients, and the taste was very delicious.
Papua New Guinea and Australia have been rumored to be climbing perch crises as early as 2015.
CCTV has introduced the climbing perch in the "Rich Classic" program, the full name is "turtle shell climbing perch", belongs to the mainland's unique freshwater fish species, mainly distributed in China, Malaysia, India and other Southeast Asian regions, because of the origin of many, so commonly known as many, in Yunnan known as "Bar XiLi", Dai language translation as "soon disappearing fish". The fish is small, but after continuous artificial rearing, it can now grow up to 20 cm long.
Climbing perch is a strong aggressive freshwater fish with hard fins and scales that, when swallowed by birds or other fish, will use its sharp dorsal fin to jam the throat of predators, causing them to suffocate to death. In addition, although freshwater fish, climbing perch have an aspiratory organ that can roost on land for days or weeks, and during droughts, they burrow into the mud to survive.
Although perch is considered a delicacy in China, it is an ecological killer in Australia. The British "Daily Mail" reported in 2015 that a study by James Cook University found that climbing perch, although it is a freshwater fish, can grow in the sea, and it is suspected that they have evolved the ability to adapt to the saltwater environment.
Scientist Nathan Waltham pointed out that climbing perch can also use the tail fin to "climb" at the bottom of fishing boats to "hitchhik", which seriously threatens the local ecology in Papua New Guinea, and if not controlled, it may extend to breed near the Torres Strait in Australia and eventually invade Australia. The local australian government has also warned fishermen and travelers to identify this fish and try not to let it damage Australia's ecological environment.