Clove fish are also called "small whitebait", "squid" and "sea dragonflies", which refer to the fish in the genus anchovies of the order Herringidae. Because their bodies smell like lilacs, the size of lilacs is very small, and larger individuals can only reach more than 20 centimeters; Their weight is only about 80-150g. Lilac fish, also known as small whitebait, is produced in Hainan Island. Lilac fish is famous for its tender meat. Although it is small in size, it has very high nutritional value. Whether it is cooking or cooking porridge, it can eat its rich and fresh fragrance. Lilac fish is rich in vitamins A and D, especially in the liver of fish. Lilac fish contains water-soluble vitamins B6, B 12, nicotinic acid and biotin, and also contains minerals. It is most worth mentioning that the fish with bones is a good source of calcium, and others such as phosphorus, copper, magnesium, potassium and iron can be ingested in fish.

Bonito refers to the fish belonging to the genus bonito of the order Perciformes, also known as "Yanzai", "Zhengyin", "Xiaochuan" and "Chai Yu" and so on. The body shape of bonito is spindle-shaped. Their heads are relatively large, their eyes are relatively small, and their mouths are large and oblique. The body length of common bonito is between 50-60 cm, but there are also slightly larger bonito, and the body length can reach 1 m.

Bonito is a kind of fish that lives in seawater, so they are marine fish in nature. All kinds of structures of their bodies are adapted to life in seawater, but generally they cannot live in fresh water. Specifically, bonito is widely distributed in the sea areas around the world, including the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Especially in tropical and subtropical seas, there are a lot of bonito. From the feeding point of view, bonito is a carnivore, which can take fish, crustaceans and molluscs in seawater as its own food.

The difference between the two: the former is small in size, only produced in Hainan Island, has the fragrance of Ding Hua, and has high nutritional value. The latter is larger, whether it is a marine fish or a carnivorous fish.