Wenling, Zhejiang, is the place where the first ray of dawn of the new millennium and new century shines in mainland China. Here is a typical "water fishing village" with a long coastline. Breeze, blue waves, white gulls and numerous boats can be seen everywhere. Of course, the gift of the coastline - tidal flats is also indispensable.

Wenling people are very careful about what seafood is eaten in season. In February we eat peach blossom mullet, in March we eat pomfret and in April we eat pomfret, and around the winter solstice we eat hairtail fish and blue crabs.

But this time we will not talk about seafood, but just look at a kind of river food called "fat-headed fish". The fat-headed fish belonging to Hunan cuisine is famous for its fresh taste and tender meat. When it comes to Wenling, it is also welcomed by the local people.

Using fat-headed fish produced at the intersection of local salty and fresh water as raw material, adding tofu and stewing it in a pot, supplemented by the simplest home cooking, the fish soup maintains its original flavor, and the fish meat is plump, tender and delicious. This is One of the vivid memories of this seaside town. Let’s take a look at how to make fat-headed fish.

Ingredients

Fathead fish, tofu, garlic sprouts, ginger slices, and green onions.

Method

1. Process fresh fathead fish. Cut the fish head into two pieces, cut the fish body into large pieces, wash the internal organs, remove the gills and place on a plate for later use.

The processing techniques of fat-headed fish are not much different from other fish, except that the emphasis of fat-headed fish is on the head, and all the essence is hidden on the fish head, so cut the fish head into large pieces and keep the fish meat strips on the side. Take a whole fish head, cut it in half into two pieces, and cut the fish body into normal pieces.

Fat-headed fish is the common name for bighead carp. The fish head is large and fat, and the meat is white and tender. It is the first choice ingredient for making fish soup. The meat under the gills is transparent and gelatinous, which is rich in collagen, which can fight against human aging. Eating more can warm the stomach, delay aging, and moisturize the skin.

2. Prepare ingredients. Cut the tofu into cubes; slice the ginger; cut the shallot into long sections; peel and chop the garlic.

Tofu is the main ingredient of fish soup, but not all tofu is suitable for making fish soup.

Tofu can be divided into brine tofu and gypsum tofu. Brine is the mother liquor remaining after seawater is extracted to make salt. Tofu made with it has high solid content, strong hardness and elasticity, tastes delicious, and is suitable for It is fried to make fillings; gypsum tofu has a delicate and smooth texture, is softer and less fragrant than brine tofu, and is suitable for mixing, roasting and making soup.

3. Heat the pan with cold oil, add a little more oil, first add ginger slices and garlic and sauté until fragrant, then fry two and a half pieces of fish heads, turn over after about two minutes and fry for another two minutes. .

4. Put the remaining fish pieces into the pot and continue frying. Pour in an appropriate amount of sea salt, two spoons of oyster sauce, and an appropriate amount of old wine to remove the fishy smell.

Wenling is close to the sea and has a natural geographical advantage. Most locals will go to the beach to work together at a specific time and dry the sea salt. Although they do not sell it on the market, they The portions for home-cooked meals are quite sufficient. Sea salt is coarser and has more particles than ordinary table salt. It has not been processed as much and can retain more trace elements.

Fish heads are larger than fish meat and are not easy to cook, so they need to be fried in a pan first.

As for whether to fry the fish first when making fish soup, it is recommended to fry it first. This can make the fish more delicious and keep the fish intact. Fish that is directly boiled in water is easy to be cooked. Fry the fish over low heat until both sides are golden brown, and then simmer it in a pot under cold water. After a series of stimulation, the protein in the fish will precipitate into the soup, making it look more fragrant and milky white.

5. After the seasonings are put in, add the tofu cubes, pour enough water to almost cover the ingredients in the pot, add an appropriate amount of brown sugar and dried chili and simmer.

Traditional stewed fish is seasoned with vinegar and cooking wine to remove the fishy smell, but adding too much vinegar will cause the fish to overpower and become unpalatable. Wenling people have their own exclusive seasoning - brown sugar. The combination of brown sugar and old wine (cooking wine) can not only increase the aroma and remove the fishy smell, but also add nutrition and flavor at the same time.

6. After the pot boils, cover the pot and continue simmering for 20 minutes before serving.

The fat head fish tofu soup must be eaten while it is hot. It will lose its flavor when it is cold. The fish meat is tender, and the fish meat and fish bones will be separated with a gentle pinch of the chopsticks. The rich and sweet fish soup has the smell of firewood when you taste it carefully. The tofu stewed with the fat-headed fish lends a umami flavor, so you can bite it off while it is hot. , the milky white soup will burst out from the holes of the tofu, with rich flavors.

The chain of contempt for eating aquatic products is that sea fish are better than lake fish.

However, the Wenling people who live by the sea have not given up enjoying lake fish because of the abundant sea fish. Probably any fish in their hands will have a unique umami taste.

Everyone yearns for the picturesque Hangzhou, but Hangzhou people are unfamiliar with the taste of the sea. If you want to taste the delicious food in Shanghai, you have to go all the way south, starting from Ningbo, going to Taizhou, and finally settling in Wenling. If nothing else, just for the fresh food, Wenling is also a city worth visiting.