Taicang, Jiangsu is a rich town, with a particularly advantageous geographical position. It is located at the intersection of the river and the sea, with the Yangtze River in the east and close to Shanghai, and its waters are open. The Liuhe River in Taicang is located at the end of the river, and the unique water environment forms a good place where the three fresh flowers of "Jianghai River" can gather. The foodies have the best sense of smell. A large group of us followed the fresh smell of the fish, shrimp and crab and went straight to the "New and Stable Happiness Hotel" in Liuhe Town, Taicang.
Fish, shrimps and crabs in various ways
Because all the people who are going with us are famous and delicious, the restaurant knew we were going, and specially asked the chef to prepare a table of famous three fresh delicacies of Jianghai River, Haihe River, except vegetables, which are fish, shrimps and crabs.
after eating "harbor pickled green shrimp", "jellyfish with vinegar pepper", "smoked fish", "double-flavored snail" and "tempura bamboo shrimp" one by one, "steamed Yangtze fish with bad oil" appeared. Knowing that Taicang's bad oil is particularly famous, it can make many vegetarian dishes, and it is not unusual to steam fish. In the words of Zhang Hui, the chef, what is strange is the ingredient of fish. The skin color of Yangtze fish is light, the meat quality is not as fat as that of cultured fish, and the entrance is tender and smooth, which is definitely the difference between the cultured fish bought in Shanghai food market and the ground. The chef taught us to marinate the fish for half an hour with Taicang local bad oil and onion ginger, add some bad oil, onion ginger and beer when steaming, and steam it in a cage for 15 minutes.
"Roasted Yangtze River Bass" is well-made, and the selected bass is much larger than the bass we bought in the market, at least seven or eight kilograms, and the big one is dozens of kilograms. What is the concept of "incense burning"? After listening to the introduction, I feel that it is really a test of cooking: first, marinate the fish with salt and onion ginger for 2 hours, and then enter the double-sided furnace. The bass was covered with tin foil and simmered for 2 minutes, while taking the fish in and out, uncovering the tin foil and wiping off the oil, which took 2 minutes to complete. It's really fragrant and the bass meat is tender.
I can't help sighing loudly when I talk about a "grilled fish in clear soup from the Yangtze River". The chef is really creative. It's obviously a bowl of white water with a dozen pale and thin grilled fish swimming in it. Take a sip of soup first, it's tasteless, then eat a fish, and look at each other at the same table. I laughed and said, "Isn't that my cat's dinner?" In fact, the story of "The Emperor's New Clothes" is played every day in this world, including the reading world, the fashion world and the food world. A senior gourmet opened his mouth to clear the gap. He said, "Try dipping it in soy sauce. It's delicious."
Eat puffer fish to the death
This food trip is an activity organized by the radio program "What to Eat Today" with friends and guests. The participants have a certain level of food production and appreciation. Amid laughter and laughter, the highlight "Braised Puffer" was finally served. Our country is known as "desperate to eat puffer fish" to show the delicacy of puffer fish and the fearless spirit of gluttons. The puffer fish is small, and each person's share is a fish, plus a big piece of fish white. Maybe it's because of the season. Last March in the lunar calendar, when I went to Yangzhou to eat puffer fish, I didn't see the white fish. With the white boiled puffer fish, I served a piece of fish liver. But Liuhe people said confidently, "This fish is a treasure!"
I recall that the first time I ate puffer fish in my life was in the suburbs of Shanghai. I only remember that everyone was full of wine and food, and I waited for a long time before the puffer fish came up. Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a plate of burnt fish. However, not pretending to be frightened seems to offend the host's good pleasure. I laugh at each other and eat with everyone, saying that I have eaten enough anyway, and I will not become a ghost when I die. Unfortunately, the mouth didn't distinguish the delicacy of the fish at all, and the threat of toxicity drifted away with the wind, just like participating in a lame adventure game.
The second time I ate puffer fish was Yangzhou, and the food in Yangzhou left a deep impression on me. On that day, the food lovers at the same table drew our attention to the exquisite production of puffer fish in the "Lushi Ancient House". Sure enough, this puffer fish is amazing beyond my expectation. A small puffer fish is as cute as a miniature dolphin with a bulging belly. Its skin is particularly plump, and it sticks to its lips when touched, and its meat quality is particularly fine. The soup is added with abalone juice, which brings out the puffer fish's own "self-invitation" and has a light and sexy color.
at this time, food lovers remind everyone to pay attention to the liver of puffer fish, which is a masterpiece in fine products. Specialized puffer fish chefs know that puffer fish liver tastes the most delicious, but countless blood vessels around the liver must be carefully removed before eating. I found two pieces of puffer fish liver on my plate. When I tasted it, my eyes naturally closed, because it was so thin, smooth and tender that it was even more fascinating than the legendary most delicate goose liver in the restaurant.
Besides, the appearance of braised puffer fish eaten in Liuhe, Taicang is really flattering. First, it is overcooked and the fish is broken. The second is to join the grass head, and when it is full, it is not noticed, and it hangs on the edge of the plate. Braised puffer fish tastes good, and the chef himself found the problem. He explained that because puffer fish paste is rich in fat, it is easy to burn, and some grass heads are placed under the fish, which is not easy to burn, and the grass heads are delicious.
As for the soup of puffer fish, people who can eat it will never let go of the choice of bibimbap. That day in Yangzhou, although my stomach was full, I mixed rice with fish soup, and accidentally turned over a piece of liver while mixing, so I was so happy that I quickly took pictures as a souvenir.
red sauce bass and loofah soup
Summer is here, and all the dishes at home are linked to the word "light". Sitting in an air-conditioned room to go to work, sometimes I can't help but feel hungry. When my colleagues vividly described the sour and fresh soup made last night, my mouth was dripping with envy.
go to buy live bass after work. I think that more than ten years ago, when the cultured bass just met the public, the fresh and delicate mouth was respected as the top grade by diners. For a while, it was popular in restaurants in Shanghai to eat raw perch, which was cut open, boned and sliced to make it "kill sago". Like tuna under the Atlantic Ocean, it was dipped in mustard and eaten very heroically. Later, the hospital found several strange cases of intestinal parasites, only to know that the water quality in China is so poor. This way of eating is simply a joke. Now everyone doesn't eat raw perch, but steamed, braised and boiled soup.
a 75g bass, washed, head and tail removed, cut in the middle, big bones removed, cut into slightly thick fillets, and kneaded with fine salt, cooking wine, monosodium glutamate and cornstarch for later use; After the head and tail bones are put into the pot to boil soup, the bones are removed; Cut tomatoes, stir-fry them in cooking oil, crush them with a spatula, and put them in fish soup. When the fire boils, reduce the heat. Pour some tomato sauce in, wait until the soup turns red, and put the loofah peeled and cut into hob pieces; Then pour in the fillets, cut them gently, roll them slightly, and skim off the floating foam.
If the housewife is lazy, and the tongue of her family is clever and easy to wait on, then the perch doesn't need to be boned from head to tail, just cut it into several large pieces. In that case, the fish can be stewed in the soup for a long time, and the soup may taste better.
This pot of soup is quite rich and beautiful in color. The red soup is rolled with white bass slices as if inlaid with silver edges, while the loofah is tender green. Fish fillets are tender, loofah is soft, and tomatoes have been integrated into the soup, which makes the soup taste sour and memorable.
if the pot is big and the soup is wide and the family has a good appetite, you can also buy an old tofu and cut it into pieces and put it in. I heard that there is also a "cat's ear", that is, the flour is stirred with water to the gluten, and the soup is added one by one. Don't stir more before coagulation, so as to avoid the soup being too turbid.
"Sea bass and loofah soup" should be drunk hot in summer, but it smells bad when it is cold. A family, you have a bowl and I have a bowl. It's cool to drink until you are full of sweat and naked.