Weihai Rongcheng elders have such a habit - "eating hair clams in the past year by festival", that is to say, rare "hair clams" can only be eaten in the New Year. Collectively, there are actually three species of "hair clams", including mud cockles, hair cockles and cockles, which also belong to cold-water cockle shellfish. The cockles are named for their largest size, and it is also a good time to eat "hair clams" in the deep winter.
There are three major cockles growing in the Rongcheng Sea: mud cockles, hair cockles and cockles. The cockle is a large, high-quality shellfish in the cockle family, which is a cold-water shellfish and is the largest species of head. Cockles are also endemic to the northern coast of China, and the Rongcheng coast is its main production area, and its economic value is very high. Rong Adults called the cockles as large clams, red shells, and blood shells. Rongcheng intertidal zone, the sea is clean, the sand is soft, is the most suitable for the growth of the cockles in the water, so the quality of the cockles produced is better. In 2013, Rongcheng Kui Cockle passed the expert review and became a national agricultural product geographical indication protection product.
△ Cockles and caterpillars
The meat is orange or apricot yellow, rich in nutrients, contains a lot of protein and vitamin B12, the meat is tender and delicious, the blood is bright red, and it has been regarded as a tonic and a famous dish since ancient times. According to ancient books, the cockle has the effect of "making people edible, beneficial to blood, eliminating blood clots and dissolving phlegm accumulation", and is mostly fresh to adjust diet and processed into frozen butterfly-like shellfish. Cockles have the effect of lowering cholesterol and blood lipids, alleviating goiter, bronchitis, stomach diseases and so on. It can be consumed by the general population.
There are several considerations for selecting cockles:
Fresh shellfish - normal color and glossy, no peculiar smell, smooth to the touch, good elasticity;
Not fresh shellfish - the color is reduced or dull, sour, sticky to the hand, poor elasticity;
Fresh red shellfish - dark yellowish brown or light yellowish brown, shiny, good elasticity;
Unfood red shells – grayish yellow or light green, dull and inelastic.
To consume cockles, there are several precautions:
Can not be eaten with cold food: the cockle is cold by nature, it is best to avoid eating with some cold foods when eating, such as hollow cabbage, cucumbers and other vegetables, and should not drink iced drinks immediately after meals, but also pay attention to eating less or not eating watermelon, pears and other cold fruits, so as not to cause physical discomfort.
Can not be eaten with beer and red wine: Eating cockles and drinking a lot of beer will produce too much uric acid, which will cause gout. Too much uric acid can be deposited in joints or soft tissues, causing inflammation of the joints and soft tissues.
Fasting in patients with skin diseases.
Shellfish itself is very umami, the excellent freshness of the red shellfish meat for the seafood hot pot raw materials, can also be dipped in mustard, sesame sauce, vinegar and other spices to eat raw, or with green peppers, cucumbers and other stir-fry, cold mix, are unique flavor.
Scalding cockles must have a certain experience, too cooked, then the shell is cracked, the meat is pale yellow and dry and bloodless, so that it is eaten, it will lose its original taste; if it is not hot enough, the shell is not only difficult to uncover, but also opened, the meat column sticks to both sides of the shell, and it is slightly fishy to eat. If you follow the following method, I believe that the heat can be moderate: when doing it, first wash the cockles off the sediment, filter dry and put them in an iron pot, boil the water to the degree of "crab eyes" (that is, the foaming sound, but not boiling), quickly pour the boiling water into the cockles, bake for about three minutes, that is, filter the water, you can eat.