Fresh and sumptuous seafood goes on the menu
removing the flesh off the fish’s bone, then briefly marinating in cooking wine, ginger, salt and green onion.
The fish’s head and bones are seared in the pan till gold in color, then made into a soup stock as the base of the noodle dish. The meat of the fish is boiled in the soup.
Another key ingredient that brings rich flavors to the dish is pickled mustard. It is stir-fried to remove moisture, then added into the fish soup. The last step is to assemble the soup, the cooked noodle and fish meat, season with ground white peppercorn.
Small yellow croaker braised with tofu is also found on menus of traditional Shanghainese restaurants. The similar texture of the fish and tofu is harmonious together, and the seasoning is slightly on the sweeter side.
In Zhoushan, dried salted large yellow croaker is also a delicacy called
After having its internal organs removed and washed, the whole fish is cut in half from the center of the back, then salt is used to preserve the fish and it’s dried in the air.
has a different flavor to the fresh yellow fish. It can be steamed with ginger, pan seared in oil, braised with pork belly meat or stewed with vegetables in soups.
The large yellow croaker’s swim bladder can be made into fish maw, an expensive and highly regarded texture ingredient.
Beltfish, also called large-head hairtail, is another widely consumed marine fish in China. The silver steel colored, elongated fish with pointed tail is packed with the flavor of the sea.
Beltfish can be coated in flour and fried to make a starter dish. Some people remove the scalp of the fish to eliminate the fishy taste, while there are also those who keep the scalp for nutritional benefits.
The beltfish should be marinated in cooking wine, ginger, green onion, garlic and spices, then coated evenly with a thin layer of flour and fried in a nonstick pan with some oil. The key is not to turn the fish frequently to avoid breaking the meat apart.
Beltfish is also steamed with ginger and green onion or braised in soy sauce.
The beltfish fished using bait has better quality than the mass harvest.
Shellfish: cheap and delicious
Clams and sea snails are among the most easily accessible seafood available in the market. Although shellfish are very cheap, it is easy to make delicious dishes out of fresh catches. In the fall, the various shellfish are also at their best.
The rich umami flavors from saltwater shellfish and molluscs correspond to the amount of organic acids, like succinic acid, in the animals. Common shellfish farmed in China include
(asari clam) and razor clams. The shellfish can be stir-fried with lots of dried pepper, garlic and chili sauce on high heat to make flavorful dishes that best accompany beer and wine.
Asari clams are also used in soups with complementary ingredients like tofu. Before cooking clams bought in the farmers’ market or supermarket, it’s important to rinse them and put them in clean water with a little bit of salt to wash out the grit.