The driver heard that we were going to experience the delicious taste of Yingde bamboo crab and made no secret of his envy. He told us that for Koreans, Yingde bamboo crab means "the best".
Eating bamboo crabs only eats legs.
After washing the sulfur hot spring, I sat cross-legged on the Korean kang in the hotel, and my expectation for food came to me.
Soon, the big steamed crab was served. For a reporter who grew up in the mainland, this crab is big enough, and the group can be reduced to more than a foot long and expanded to nearly half a meter. Unlike freshwater crabs, bamboo crabs are small, but their legs are long and full. It is said that there is no cream, no yellow food in the crab, but there are many contents in the crab legs. The shopkeeper cut off the crab legs and put them on a plate. After a little humility, the diners waved their hands and took scissors and a small fork to pull out the crab meat. It turns out that eating bamboo tube crabs doesn't need any "eight crabs" at all. As soon as the crab legs are cut open, there is a big crab meat entrance when the fork is gently picked. At first glance, it's quite surprising. It tastes delicious, the meat is delicate, and the taste seems to be better than that of the river crab. It feels really good with light Korean shochu.
The owner said that the bamboo crab's legs are long and straight, much like bamboo, hence its name. This kind of crab usually lives in seawater hundreds of meters deep, and it can't be raised artificially at present, so we eat all "natural" things. Moreover, only in cold winter will crab meat become fuller and taste different from peacetime, so it is often caught in winter.
Yingde County gave everyone a heavy book called "Hometown of Bamboo and Crab Growth", which is simply an encyclopedia of bamboo and crabs. Holding a book in hand, you can feel the weight of bamboo and crab in the hearts of local people. According to the records in the book, the Latin name of Korean "bamboo crab" is Chionoecetesopilio, which belongs to a kind of snow crab. The width of male crab shell can reach 15 cm, and the crab foot can reach 80 cm, which is widely distributed in the east and west sides of the North Pacific Ocean and the continental shelf of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
But for Koreans who believe in "native", bamboo crabs are widely distributed all over the world, but they taste the best at home. The seabed in Yingde sea area is covered with clean fine sand, which is most suitable for bamboo crabs to grow and forage, so Yingde bamboo crabs have the best taste. Korean bamboo crab is not delicious enough, but Russian bamboo crab is much worse. Colleague president nan also solemnly told us a secret of choosing bamboo and crab from the shell. He said that people who are good-looking are the best. After careful consultation, I found that Korean bamboo crab is really beautiful.
The mother crab was fined 3 million.
Bamboo crabs can bring10 million dollars to the British and Germans every year, and the annual catch may not exceed 40 tons.
Zheng Jixun, an official with the Marine Fisheries Department of Yingde County, said that there are always some fishermen who do not declare their catches to the government, so this figure may be lower. But in any case, this quantity is too small, and with the catch of Weizhen and Pohang nearby, the annual catch of the whole bamboo and crab producing area may be less than 100 tons. The British and Germans are helpless about this-this output is far from enough to meet domestic demand, let alone export it.
As early as the early 20th century, when Japan ruled the Korean peninsula, Britain and Germany could catch 3,000 tons of bamboo and crabs every year. The reporter also learned from the information that the bamboo crabs caught by Japanese fishermen also dropped from about 1970 15000 tons to 3800 tons in 2000.
President Nan, who is known as "Dr. Crab", told us that some Korean scholars believe that global warming and rising sea temperature have led to great changes in conditions such as spawning and foraging of bamboo crabs, resulting in a rapid decline in bamboo crab resources. At present, Korean and Japanese scholars are actively developing large-scale artificial incubation technology to supplement the increasingly scarce natural resources.
Protecting crab resources is a serious and urgent task for local fishery administration. There is no female crab on our dining table, which also reflects the achievements of fishery administration.
Zheng Jixun said that female crabs are completely prohibited from fishing. Because it is really difficult to separate when fishing, the Korean Ministry of Fisheries stipulates that all female crabs caught before fishing boats dock must be released into the sea. Not only that, male crabs with shell width less than 9 cm must also be released. South Korea has also stipulated a fishing moratorium, and only crabs are allowed from June 165438+ 10 to May of the following year.
These policies are conducive to the long-term utilization of fishery resources and are generally welcomed. In fact, fishermen in Britain and Germany often spontaneously organize themselves to encourage each other, delaying the crab-catching season for another month and starting fishing in June 5438+February. Because of this, with the coming of winter, bamboo crabs store more nutrients and become fatter and more valuable.
Female crabs can be sold at high prices in private, so there are always individuals who take risks for their own self-interest. Fishermen often hide the female crabs they catch and sell them secretly. South Korea has formulated strict management measures for this purpose. According to the law, if the female crab is caught privately, it will be fined 3 million won and the fishing will be suspended for one month. If it is committed again, the fine will rise to 5 million yuan. If you catch it for the third time, your crab license will be revoked.
To this end, the Yingde County Fisheries Management Office and the police conduct patrol spot checks on the 53-kilometer coastline at least twice a week. Zheng Jixun laughed and said that patrolling is a very dangerous thing. They always catch twenty or thirty cases of illegal crab catching every year. Because the punishment is severe, the parties are easily excited and anything can happen. But for the sake of more people's jobs, the patrol has no regrets.
"King" is a new trick.
"Wang" is an ancient name for a reef on the sea near Yingde. According to reports, the fast-flowing water is submerged in the soil, and the bait and water-soluble oxygen are rich. Since ancient times, it has been considered as a place rich in bamboo crabs and all kinds of marine fish, and a blessed place for fishermen. The last stop of our trip is the "Wang" restaurant in Seoul, which is a bamboo tube crab restaurant opened by President Nan. The restaurant is located next to Gwanghwamun, Gyeongbokgung Palace, North Korea Palace.
President Nan is a successful businessman who owns a large online shopping company and a wine sales company. But what he is most keen on is high-end restaurants, mainly engaged in bamboo tube dishes and crab dishes.
Wang's first store opened in Seocho-ku, Seoul on 1999, and developed into six stores in five years. When the first store opened, there was not a special bamboo crab restaurant in Seoul, but after the success of Wang, more than 200 restaurants followed suit within a few years. In order to win the competition, Wang has his own food research institute and developed more than 200 kinds of bamboo and crab dishes for the market. It is said that most of these dishes are improved from recipes in Hong Kong and Japan. Because of its distinctive features, many major media in South Korea have reported the deeds of "Wang".
In the evening, we tasted the bamboo tube crab spicy soup here, which was really delicious.
President Nan sincerely invited us to introduce Wang to readers in China. He said that more and more Korean guests came to his hotel, and they felt more and more the economic development of China and the deepening of exchanges between China and South Korea. He told reporters bluntly that China people are already very rich. China guests who come to see him often ask for a bamboo crab, which is expensive.
Due to the scarcity of production, bamboo crabs are very expensive in South Korea, just like hairy crabs in China. The reporter asked about the price. A medium-sized bamboo crab costs 1.5 million won, and 1000 RMB, which is really not cheap.