Chapter 38 mullet roe

Taiwan-style food and Taiwan-style diet have successively seized the mainland in the past 15 years.In the streets and alleys of many cities, you can smell the aroma of Taiwanese sausage, Yonghe soybean milk, braised pork rice, pearl milk tea, spicy hot pot, Mongolian barbecue and American steak. The so-called Taiwanese food is basically Hokkien cuisine combined with four rhymes of great rivers and rivers and nostalgia.Except for the packaging and operation, there is nothing particularly attractive about it.Of course, Taiwanese are not always so hard-sale, they sell everything, and they also have conservative aspects. For example, mullet roe, a delicacy unique to Taiwan, has not been seen in mainland China until now.If the level of mullet roe is equivalent to Hou Xiaoxian, then those things mentioned above can only be regarded as Qiong Yao and Xi Murong at best, and Gu Long if they are exhausted.Of course, Shandong baijiu in the mainland has also had a great market in Taiwan in recent years. It really echoes Li Shulei’s words: Compared with Qiong Yao’s second spring in the mainland, Wang Guozhen’s hot sales in Taiwan can be regarded as paying for what he said. Reported.

However, it is not entirely unreasonable for Taiwanese to be conservative on the issue of mullet roe. Mullet, scientific name mullet, is called "black fish" in Hokkien because of its black back.The sea area at the southern end of the Taiwan Strait is a unique spawning ground for rare mullet in the world. Around November every year, when the cold wind blows in winter, the mullet school migrates southward from the coast of the mainland where they live, and spawns in the Eluanbi sea area at the southern end of Taiwan. , and then turned back to become "Huaihuiwu".With this favorable time and place, Taiwanese fishermen are lucky enough to catch mullet and sell it as expensive "mullet roe" for profit. Fishermen regard it as a "year-end bonus" bestowed by God, and it is also an annual fishing event.

Mullet roe is the egg of a female mullet – to be precise, it should be the ovary of a female mullet, which is removed by fishermen, salted, pressurized, and finally air-dried into flakes.If the weather is good, the process can be completed within a week.High-quality mullet roe is yellow-brown in color and can be eaten as soon as it is fried. It is an excellent gift for wine. From the looks of it, a complete pair of mullet roe is bilaterally symmetrical, shaped like the soles of a three or four-year-old child, very flattering.As for the cooking process of mullet roe, it is even more of a foreplay.

A relatively simple method is: first peel off the outer film of the whole mullet roe, wipe it clean, put it in a pan, soak it in sorghum wine for about one minute, then directly ignite the mullet roe with a lighter, and then put it It can be dry fried on a slow fire.If you have a top grade, of course you are not willing to be so sloppy: wipe it off, wipe it off as it is, and roast it slowly over charcoal fire.At the same time, take a piece of fat and tender scallion, cut it obliquely, dip it in the aged Huadiao wine, and carefully smear it on the surface of the mullet roe repeatedly until the aroma is overflowing. Take it out and cut it into thin slices like Shanghai rice cakes. Serve on a plate.

The cooked mullet roe has a salty aroma with a fishy sweetness. At first it feels a little tough and a little powdery. After chewing repeatedly, the sticky lingering gradually spreads between the mouth and tongue, and the delicate texture of the roe can be vaguely touched. Grain feeling, at this moment, a mouthful of Jinmen sorghum is poured into the mouth, and I don't want to say anything. There is also a customary combination of mullet roe, that is, mullet roe is served with slices of raw onion and white radish, and three slices are eaten together. I think this is really a bit of cannibalism. In fact, after a bite of mullet roe, If you think it is fishy, ​​pick a piece of raw onion; if you think it is salty, bite a piece of radish—I guarantee you will praise God from the bottom of your heart: green onions and radishes, two common things that are too common, have never been so delicious.

"Blood roe" is the best among mullet roe, only one out of every thousand mullet will produce blood roe, which is extremely rare.It is the blood collapse in the body of the mullet when it is frightened and escapes in the sea. The blood in the whole body rushes to the ovary rapidly, thus forming a special dark color. It is a veritable "Taiwan black gold".Local people believe that it has the effect of nourishing blood, so they buy it for women who are in confinement.In addition, "Blood Son" is an absolutely decent New Year gift.But it's a bit weird to give someone a pair of bleeding ovaries, it's better to eat it yourself.

The mullet fishing industry in the waters of Taiwan has been going on for more than 300 years.During the period when the Dutch ruled Taiwan, a tithe tax was collected from fishermen who came to catch mullet in this sea area; in the Ming and Zheng dynasties, the fishing boats catching mullet were even taxed with mullet banners, with the intention of restricting the catch; after the Qing Dynasty , related historical annals such as Zhuluo County Chronicles, Taihai Shichalu, Fengshan Miscellaneous Rates, etc., have relevant records for mullet. Because the mullet roe caught along the coast north of Taichung Harbor before the winter solstice is not yet full, it is ripe at the coast of Changhua County.Therefore, among the mullet in the waters of Taiwan, the roe migrating to the coast of Changhua are the most plump and moderate, and the taste is also particularly extraordinary.At the same time, artificial breeding of mullet has a long history in Taiwan. However, it is said that farmed mullet is not only similar in size and weight, but the roe also has a smell of feed, which is not the same as the sweetness of wild mullet roe. And language.

The Japanese are also very greedy for mullet roe. It is difficult to verify whether the style of mullet roe in Taiwan was created by the aborigines on the island or whether it was introduced by the Japanese during the Japanese occupation. According to Li Shizhen's record of mullet: "It is born in the East China Sea, shaped like a herring, and the elder is more than a foot long. Its scorpion is full of belly, yellow fat, and delicious." Therefore, I suspect that the tradition of eating mullet roe may have already existed in China. In short, otherwise, Li Shizhen would not have emphasized that "his son is full of yellow fat and delicious".

Professor Lin Wenyue of National Taiwan University pointed out: "mullet roe" in Japanese is the pronunciation of "Tang Mo".The Japanese have always worshiped the Tang Dynasty in history, so the term "Tang ink" is probably "because it resembles the ink of Chinese calligraphy utensils". The artificial cultivation of mullet in Taiwan indeed began during the Japanese occupation period. According to historical records, fishermen caught mullet fry along the coast from January to March every year, and stocked them in fresh and saltwater fish farms to mix with other fish. There are not many, and it is not an important fish species for farming. More than ten years ago, the artificial reproduction technology of mullet was mature, and after a large number of farmers successfully stocked mullet, it led to a trend of local mullet farming, and gradually there was a tendency to replace stocking eels. However, due to the large market demand, most of the current main supply of mullet roe comes from farmed mullet roe or mullet roe imported from the United States, Australia, Brazil and other places for reprocessing.

I don't know if mullet is also produced in Japan, but it is reported that Japan has cheap fake mullet roe for sale, which is very similar to fake mullet roe, which is mixed with shark and cod roe and egg yolk. In any case, the situation of eating grilled mullet roe in Taipei will be somewhat "gentle".It is worth mentioning that Japanese food is the number one foreign food in Taiwan. Of course, there are expensive ones. However, most of the normal Japanese food is food stall style, which is very civilian style. Sitting in front of the "Japanese food stall" on the street From time to time, you will see "Obasang" or "Ojisan" (Japanese pronunciation of "old woman" and "old man") wearing slippers. Shi Shiran sits down with a plate of sushi and a bowl of ramen, just like Guangzhou My uncle and grandma are routinely serving their "one cup and two pieces", which is not the kind of "pretend" that you see in Japanese restaurants in Hong Kong and mainland cities. It is not expensive, and it is amazingly delicious, even if it is a bowl The miso soup with a few yuan is also "heavily" dropped the leftovers of raw fish. This kind of thing is unimaginable for those of us who are used to miso soup with seasoning packets and boiled water.

Taiwanese people want everyone to "come to Taipei in winter to see the rain". In fact, winter, to be precise, is the peak spawning period of mullet from mid-November to mid-December every year, just like hairy crabs in late autumn. full.Around the Spring Festival, the finished mullet roe will rush to the market.It is conceivable that in November and December after the "Three Direct Links", we can go to Shanghai to eat hairy crabs, and then fly directly to Taipei for the mullet roe meeting with our hands full of crab meat. Therefore, "come to Taipei in winter to watch the rain" is not as good as "come to Taipei in winter to eat mullet roe". Of course, if there is a little winter rain outside while eating and drinking, it should be very good. I have been to Taipei several times, but it was the first time I tasted mullet roe in the winter of 2001. That night, I still sat at the Huaxi Street night market and knew the "Sushi King" because I usually have mild skin allergies when I eat salmon roe , so a plate of mullet roe was placed in front of him, and he gave up after only one bite. The next day, I woke up at ten o'clock in the morning. I sat up to do my daily "tea thing". Just as I felt my mouth was a bit empty, I suddenly saw the mullet roe packed and brought back to the hotel last night on the table. I chewed it. Next, there is an unspeakable surprise.Finally, while sucking the golden powder on his fingers, he made a decision and went straight to "Sushi King" again that night. Mullet roe has always been known as "Taiwanese caviar". In Taipei, buying a pair of raw mullet roe costs NT$300-500 (approximately RMB 80-130).Since this item has to be refrigerated, it is too troublesome, so I thought it would not be too late to buy it at the airport before leaving.Unexpectedly, when I arrived at Zhongzheng Airport, I saw that the ordinary goods in the freezer were charged NT$1,000 a pair.Even the limited number of "blood sons" is only NT$1,000 per plate in restaurants.The more he thought about it, the more angry he became, and he went straight into the smoking room. After flying into the sky, after thinking about it again, I felt relieved: Who taught you to eat mullet roe for breakfast?You deserve it because you can't take it with you, this is really a sign of the eye.