It is not easy for crayfish to climb the Chinese table, because crayfish is not actually a primitive species in China, and it is generally believed that its origin is Europe or North America.

In the second year of Showa (1927), 20 crayfish used as feed for breeding bullfrogs were brought to Japan from Hawaii, USA. Later, I brought crayfish as feed to Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. In this way, crayfish successfully landed in East Asia as an exotic species.

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Since this landing, crayfish broke the regional discrimination and taste barrier with lightning speed, and quickly captured the taste buds of almost all people in China, showing a textbook-level "invasion failure".

Although crayfish are often labeled as "unclean sewage growth" and "heavy metals exceeding the standard", according to the Report on the Development of Crawfish Industry in China (20 17), China has become the largest crayfish producer and consumer in the world in 20 16.

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Now, crayfish can be found everywhere from the northeast to Hainan and from Shanghai to Xinjiang, but the practices and tastes of different places are quite different.

Thirteen fragrant crayfish in Xuyi, Jiangsu. Xuyi, a small county town in Huai 'an, Jiangsu Province, is known as the "Lobster Capital of China" and is definitely the first crayfish producing area in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. A big-shelled, thin-fleshed Xuyi crayfish was fried with at least 13 kinds of Chinese herbal medicines with different flavors and characteristics, and the comprehensive taste of spicy flavor was unforgettable.

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Braised prawns in Qianjiang, Hubei. As the saying goes: "China crayfish look at Hubei, Hubei crayfish look at Qianjiang."

Chen Xiaoqing, the general director of China on the Tip of the Tongue, once said: "In Qianjiang, Hubei Province in the 1980s, family members of the oilfield first started to fry crayfish." This may also be the earliest crayfish change from cooking to frying in China. Braised prawns quickly became popular in Hubei, and were copied to Wuhan, becoming a bully in the snack world. People in Wuhan can eat about 1500 tons of crayfish a year.

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Hunan delicious shrimp. Steamed shrimp and fried shrimp belong to the creative taste of new Changsha people. For the old Changsha people, the favorite is always delicious shrimp. The soul of delicious shrimp is a good shrimp soup, which is made of more than ten kinds of ingredients such as pig bone, soybean, bean paste, chopped pepper sauce and fennel.

Stir-fry shrimp while simmering shrimp soup. Stir-fry perilla, cinnamon, minced meat, garlic, dried Chili, ginger and other ingredients, add crayfish and stir fry, then pour in shrimp soup and cook together. Delicious shrimp is red, lively and fragrant, and you are surrounded by overwhelming attractive atmosphere.

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Ma Xiaoer in Guijie, Beijing. Guijie, a dining street located in Dongzhimen, Dongcheng District, Beijing. Ma Xiaoer, or spicy crayfish, is an improved version of delicious shrimp in Changsha. Although it is difficult to find the real Changsha flavor in Guijie nowadays, Ma Xiaoer is still an indispensable food signboard in Guijie.

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Snail lobster fort in Nanchang, Jiangxi. The history of eating snails in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province is much longer than that of eating crayfish. Nanchang people also use the unique skills of frying snails on crayfish, and cook them together to make a snail lobster pot, which is rich and delicious.

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Steamed crayfish of different species. Most people eat crayfish just for "delicious", but there are still some diners who absolutely support steamed crayfish. Steamed crayfish require extremely high freshness of ingredients. Clean, season with a little salt and wine, steam, cool and serve. At this time, the peeled shrimp meat is white and tender, Q-elastic and slippery, and wrapped in spicy or sour dipping sauce to feel the fresh fragrance of juice and the sweetness of shrimp meat.

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Crayfish is not elegant to eat, but it has become a globally recognized social food. One summer night, I made an appointment with three or five friends. Although I was stripped in a mess, my mouth was full of sauce and oil droplets were overflowing, but isn't eating lobster just a little human touch?