Most of the people who grew up by the sea have a deep memory of the gifts of the sea, and all kinds of fresh seafood are full of taste buds and bring special feelings. In addition to those high-end delicacies such as ginseng abalone, in fact, what can cause aftertaste is also the small creatures that cover the crevices of the coastal reefs, such as the genus of small snails, which are regular customers on the simple table and enrich people's dining life.
Nowadays, life is better, food is no longer scarce, but these seafood snacks are not so common, and even become a certain degree of rarity, as an unpopular, always occupy a place in the seafood market, uncommon, nor have they disappeared. Only those who can eat and love to eat will have the heart to look for it and taste the old feelings carried in it.
People in the Jiaodong area have their own "code" for calling seafood, such as mussels called "sea red", oysters called "sea oysters", pipa shrimp called "shrimp tigers", clams called "gala", and so on. Speaking of small snails, it is called wave snails, and there are shampoo snails, spicy snails, large conchs, etc. Today I want to talk about a beautiful thing called "wave sucking snail".
New Year's Festival "food", usually rare
Suction snail this thing, usually not too common, especially in the daily farmers market, can be said to be rare, even if there are individual vendors to sell, it is only a little bit of zero trouble, after all, there are not many people who know the goods, love to eat, will eat less.
Years ago, there were people who bought New Year goods, rushed to the big market, and purchased different New Year goods, and the old Qingdao people all knew which traditional markets to go to, such as Wang Gezhuang, Li Village, Shazikou, Fushan Suo Daji and so on. The market with the highest concentration and the best quality of seafood is no more than the Shazikou Seafood Market. If you want to buy a good suction snail, you have to find it here.
In the eyes of the knowledgeable old Qingdao, the suction snail is a sought-after commodity in the market, most of them are experienced, elderly, and have some feelings for this thing, after all, they have eaten it when they were young, and it is not a noble seafood, but now it seems that it is a treasure for people who know the goods. So even if you go to a large market, you have to look carefully if you want to eat it, maybe a huge market, only one or two stalls for sale, a blink of an eye may be missed.
All seafood, there is a fat, thin and tender season, just like when the shrimp beauty, when the crab fat, there are certain rules, the gourmets naturally know when to eat what, when to buy what. The suction snails sold in Qingdao are all from Laizhou Bay in Yantai, and although there are also local outputs, they will not be large-scale.
Carts are sold and weighed at will
Vendors who sell suction snails should be relatively happy. There is no need for much paving, not even a place to occupy, a small cart is enough. There is a snakeskin pocket in the car, Qingdao people call it "woven bag", which is filled with slow suction snails, which must be dozens of pounds, all of which are cooked in advance when they are fresh. This thing has been out of the water for a long time, losing the umami taste is not valuable, it is said that people can distinguish between good and bad by appearance, it is really a master of food.
With the continuous development of economic conditions, the price of this thing has gradually risen, from a few points and a few cents when I was a child, to three yuan and two yuan in the early years, and then to seven or eight yuan in the previous two years. The price of seafood fluctuates the most, so when you go to a seafood restaurant to eat, the general recipe only indicates the "current price", which is also the truth.
Generally speaking, eating this thing, most of them will not buy more, and they can solve their mouths. The shell is too hard, it is not easy to pack outside, the woven bag is heavy, and it cannot be poured out, so the stall owners have special tools, a small fence made of thick wire, inserted into the bag, with experience to estimate, three or two times is almost enough.
The buyer does not care about the two pounds, installs the payment and leaves, even if there is a plan, the stall owner grabs another one, and everyone is happy. The stall owner took the money and carried it into the bag around his waist, so crisp and sharp. If outsiders see this scene, I am afraid that they will also blame the honesty of Qingdao people, "buying goods is not proportionate" and "collecting money is not counted." They may not understand the complex of children by the sea.
Although the good things are beautiful, they are not on the table
Jiaodong cuisine, one of the three branches of Lu cuisine, has a very exquisite cuisine and preparation method, although the seafood is the main ingredient, but which should be served, which can not be served, are also very exquisite. Serving the wrong dish, or even in the wrong order, is to make people laugh. This sucking and eating "sucking snail" is one of the dishes that cannot be eaten.
"Suction snail" is a local vernacular, and there are also called "sucker snails", all of which mean the same thing. The origin of the name is because of its strange way of eating, this small thing is shaped like a screw, one big, one small, when eating, first knock off the tail of the small snail, let the snail baby's cabin before and after ventilation, and then take the big end in the mouth, and then suck hard into it.
Why you can't get on the table, in fact, it is very easy to explain. Imagine that in the regular Jiaodong cuisine banquet, are the sum of high-end dishes, the meal is also very Sven, suddenly came up a plate of "suction snail", diners changed the door style, each grabbed a handful, put in the mouth "howl" sound, do not move to a small hammer to knock the snail ass, it is indeed hurtful.
But in the flat head of the people have another flavor, the family sits together, eating "suction snail", nagging homely, especially charming, what rules Sven, are not as good as the family's happiness and harmony in the world.
Large pots are relieved, and small bowls are fresher
In the 1980s, on the side of the road in some areas, you can occasionally see vendors selling suction snails, mostly women, and the men in the family are doing heavy work, so they come out to sell some bits and pieces of seafood to subsidize the family.
At that time, the vendors were uniformly dressed, wearing headscarves, sleeves, cloth shoes, two hands under the armpits of the chest, squatting on the side of the road to sell goods. Qingdao dialect is generally called "dog squatting", and it is also called "stock squatting", I don't know which word is. It can be seen in Sifang Road Market, Dalian Road Market, and Taitung Second Road Market Building.
The suction snails sold by the vendors are also cooked, packed in small pots, which is another way of selling, not according to the pound, there is a small magnetic cup of liquor on hand, even if it is a measuring tool, a small cup of one or two cents, how much to get out, put in the paper bag, checkout and leave.
Most of the snails sold by these merchants are booty that they rush to the sea to collect. Now in the seafood market, I occasionally see large pots for sale, but it is unprocessed raw goods, large in size, in large quantities, mostly artificially farmed goods, many of which are bought by restaurants to deal with the rare "no also say", but not as delicious as this small head.
Don't look at the vendors selling pot by pot, the average person goes to the sea, and really may not be able to catch something. In fact, at low tide, just find a piece of the seashore, turn over the stone, and you will see this suction snail. In recent years, there have been too many foreign tourists, the seafood has gradually become scarce, and the water quality is poor, so they no longer eat these things, and they no longer have the experience of picking up at the beach.
The way to eat is fun and the aftertaste is endless
Conchs in the Qingdao area, no matter how big or small, must be picked out with something, because the meat is hidden deeply. The suction snail is the only type of conch that is not suitable for needle picking, but it needs to handle the tail to free suction, so it cannot be said that there is no need for tools at all. Of course, many people have good teeth, especially those who are more confident in their front teeth, and can solve this problem with their own natural tools.
This is also the most interesting place for the suction snail, the cooked snail is served on the table, with a hot air and a characteristic fresh aroma. A table of people sitting around, usually one or two parents, with pliers to get off first, break off the tip of the snail's ass, the other juniors can eat. Of course, many people have good teeth, especially those who are more confident in their front teeth, and can solve this problem with their own natural tools.
It is said that there are gourmets who have a unique idea, play the function of the key, and put the butt of the conch into the keyhole, and can also receive miraculous results. In the whole process, everyone divides their own work and enjoys it. Of course, there are some suction snails are relatively tight, once the big head does not come out, and then want to eat meat is not easy, here is a trick, upside down to the small head to suck twice, and then come back to suck the big head, there may be an unexpected harvest.
Although the snail is delicious, but the meat is small, it can be used to relieve hunger, but it cannot be counted on to fill the stomach. So to eat this thing, you have to have patience and annoyance, suck slowly, taste carefully, and let go until your mouth hurts. When the fragrant snail meat and juice are sucked, jump into your mouth and deliver it to your mouth, full of fresh flavor, what else to consider.
[Digression] What exactly is the wave-absorbing snail
Suction snail is the local language of qingdao people, its scientific name is longitudinal beach snail, according to the classification of "Phytopods", it belongs to the mollusk phylum, gastropods, mid-gastropods, beach snails small animals.
This small thing, generally shelled at three or four centimeters, is black-brown or bluish-gray, and some have patterns. It is widely distributed, with most of the country's coastal areas found, with more in the south than in the north. They generally live under mud beaches or reefs, so they are called beach snails, they are mainly gregarious, and they can be harvested when they find one.
When I was a child, the beach of the trestle was a good place to pick up the suction snail, it was common on the seashore, the size of the head was at your disposal, you wanted to pick as much as you wanted, not afraid of your needs, afraid that you could not eat. This is now a rare situation.
Finally, it is reminded that the conch is a cool food, mostly based on carrion, and it is appropriate to stop, and eating more is harmful to the human body. Then there are more types of conch, such as textured snails are similar to them, but they are toxic and need to pay attention to safety.