In Guangdong, there is a famous dish with a traditional flavor, called braised big-eyed chicken fish, which is a traditional Cantonese dish. The so-called big-eyed chicken fish in Guangdong is the big-eyed seabream. The big-eyed seabream is a species of fish in the genus Bigeye snapper in the family Bigeye snapper. Also known as big-eyed fish, big-eyed lotus, big-eyed chicken, Chaoshan area commonly known as red-eyed silver carp.
The big-eyed seabream is a warm-water demersal fish found in the western Pacific, tropical and subtropical waters, from Indonesia to Japan; it is mainly produced in China in the South China Sea and the southern East China Sea. It usually lives in the reef area, lying diurnal and nocturnal, and uses its large eyes at night to search for prey, feeding mainly on small fish and crustaceans.
Big-eyed seabream swims slowly and does not migrate long distances. The food is mainly long-tailed, copepod and terminal foot. Generally, the body length is 12 to 16 cm, and the larger one can reach 25 cm. It can be caught all year round in the South China Sea, and the winter and spring floods are strong. Because of the thick skin and coarse flesh, it is generally peeled to make dry products, and the finished product is also called peeling fish, which distinguishes another type of peeling fish.
The gem-eyed seabream is one of the larger of the larger seabream, and is characterized by a double concave caudal fin with an elongated upper and lower lobe, and a dark spot on the medial side of the base of the ventral fin. A slightly dark red body color that can quickly change to silver or patchy at night.
The big-eyed snapper is often a loner resting in the reef area, but it is found in groups deeper outside the reef rim, so it is often caught in groups by fishermen. Big-eyed seabream is very common and is also a kind of seafood food that we are more everyday, and you can also try the traditional Cantonese dish braised big-eye chicken fish.