First, the season and material selection. There is a saying that the cooking season of fish glue is the time after the first frost (because the climate is different and uneven, flies just don't move or freeze), because the air is cold and dry during this time, which is conducive to the condensation and drying of glue. The weather is too hot, the glue does not coagulate, it dries slowly, and it is easy to deteriorate, stink and mold. We should pay attention to the choice of materials. In the past, our coastal areas generally used rice swim bladder as glue, which had a particularly high viscosity. But now rice fish is scarce and expensive, and rhubarb swim bladder is generally used as glue, and the effect is not bad. Choose a relatively good, large and dry swim bladder of Pseudosciaena crocea (this means that Pseudosciaena crocea has been growing for many years, if the gum yield is low, the viscosity is not strong) for standby.

Second, bubble hair. Soak the selected swim bladder in clear water. After softening, cut it into as small pieces as possible with scissors and soak it for 24 hours.

Third, pot steaming. When the swim bladder turns rotten and soft, and the whole body turns white, take it out of the water, put it on a plate, steam it in a pressure cooker (or a general steamer) for about 30 to 40 minutes, and take a piece and bite it with your teeth until it feels soft and sticky.

Fourth, break the glue. Take out the glue, immediately put it in the garlic mortar and mash it for a long time (it used to be hammered on the chopping board). The longer the pound, the more broken it is, so that the glue yield is high. If the glue is dry, add appropriate amount of boiling water to continue pounding. This is a very tiring job and requires a lot of physical strength. There used to be a saying that "a good man doesn't fight two or two", which shows his fatigue.

Fifth, cook. Take out the glue and wrap it on gauze. Boil water in an iron pot, put an iron bowl in the pot, put a proper amount of boiling water, put gauze in the iron bowl, squeeze while soaking, and so on until the glue completely penetrates into the bowl. The remaining swim bladder residue can be dried and used next time.

Sixth, drying. Pour the glue from the bowl into a large flat vessel, and the glue will condense into a thin layer of frozen substance at the bottom of the vessel. After a period of time, uncover it, tear it into small pieces, and put it in a ventilated place to dry until all the water is volatilized and the colloid is dry and hard, and then put it in a closed vessel for later use. At this point, the whole glue making process is completed.