Review of eating | Small heat, big heat, milkfish intestines to eat two

After writing this article, it will be published in the bimonthly issue of "Salt Zone Literature" published in July 2020.

If you want to eat milkfish intestines, you have to get up early. Whether eating out or buying home and cooking, it is.

Let's talk about eating out. Milkfish intestines, known as one of the "Dark Cuisines in Southern Taiwan", are rarely seen outside of Kaohsiung and Tainan. There is even a saying on the Internet that "a food stall opens at six in the morning, but you have to eat milkfish intestines." Arrive at 5:30 in the morning" and "A certain customer visited a store five times in a row to eat milkfish sausage, but he was completely empty, and the sixth time he ordered 30 dishes in a rage, causing dissatisfaction from the customers behind" and other legends.

The legend of the rivers and lakes may be exaggerated, but it is an irreversible fact that the milkfish intestines begin to decay as soon as they leave the fish body. Just because milkfish sausage itself contains digestive enzymes, even if it is refrigerated, it will decompose on its own. Therefore, unless they have undergone basic cooking treatment (such as simple blanching), those food stalls with various milkfish sausage dishes, if they are all fresh in the pot, will be sold out after eight o’clock in the morning— Either it got into the belly of the old gluttons, or it was too soft to be seen, so it had to be discarded.

If you want to buy it and cook it yourself, you not only have to pay early, but also have to try your luck. We Taiwanese love to say "XXX can't cross the turbid stream", milkfish is one of the words that can be substituted for XXX. Milkfish is known as "Southern Taiwan Domestic Fish". South of the Zhuoshui River, from Yunlin to Pingtung, there are milkfish dens distributed in Tainan and Kaohsiung. This makes the northern milkfish intestines gleam with rare gold. Compared with the south, there are far fewer stalls specializing in milkfish in the traditional market in the north. Occasionally, there are a few stalls. A piece of milkfish maw is cut from the side. The whole piece of fish maw is spread on the ice bed like a fan. Most of the fish intestines are thrown directly into the filth bucket, and the result of the inquiry is usually "very ugly (the quality is too bad), not for sale". It's rare to be lucky enough to encounter someone who deliberately selects plump fish and carefully picks the intestines. Of course, if you have intestines, you have to buy them straight and you have to buy them. After ten o'clock, you don't ask for fish intestines. If you say that you can't pick out a few good pairs and sell them today, you will probably get the boss's eyes: "Why are you here today?" Grid lost conspiracy ah.

I wanted to buy milkfish intestines in the south, but encountered another difficulty. Due to the economics of the production area and the difficulty of preservation, milkfish has become one of the extreme local specialties limited to the south. For foodies who know how to eat, milkfish is the delicacy of "Nose-to-Tail Eating", not only from the beginning to the end, but also from the inside to the outside. Milkfish sausage has the rich and fresh taste of fish, and the texture of the internal organs, which has always attracted a group of die-hard fans. However, a fish only has one pair of intestines, and not every pair of intestines can be placed on the table—the intestines must be edible, and the fishermen have to starve the milkfish for a few days on the eve of fishing, or go on a raft. To startle the fish, increase the amount of exercise of the fish, so as to clear the intestines. All of these make milkfish intestines more expensive. In order to satisfy the visitors, the fish intestines of almost every milkfish merchant have long been married by the fingertips of the milkfish snack bar. The sky is still dark, and the store is eagerly waiting to pick up the goods, and there is no slag left for the individual customers; occasionally, when I come across the moment of cutting the fish and taking the intestines, I dare to go to ask if it is sold or not. I took a pair of bloody fish sausages), either said that I had to buy the whole package at one time (there were 100 pairs in it); Count), love to buy or not is up to people.

After I finally bought it, when I got home, I had to put all the big things on hold. We must give priority to handling fish sausages, so as not to waste the hard work and luck of buying sausages in the morning. In the past, I despised the weakness of fish intestines. After I bought it, I put it in the refrigerator first. I wanted to do something else first. My mother knew that I dared to put the fish intestines aside, but she always thought it was impossible. The effect, as time passed, the original soft and real Q bombs were paralyzed to the point of collapse, and the original fresh flavor of raw fish disappeared without a trace. Although it seems that it still barely retains the appearance of fish intestines, if it is hard-fried or boiled, it will end up with a lump of unrecognizable ghost, and no matter how hungry it is, it will not arouse appetite.

Unlike humans who are greedy for the cold, in the double heat of July, the sun unceremoniously emits heat, making people dizzy, but milkfish swim very well. Milkfish are afraid of cold and prefer heat. The hotter the weather, the stronger and plumper they can grow, and the more sturdy the fish intestines are naturally. The fish intestines are tender and need to be handled carefully. No matter how fresh it is, when you buy it, you must not put it in the pot whole. You must first hold the sharp scissors and turn over to find the thickest intestinal tube (actually the stomach), and slowly cut it from the opening until it is round and solid Until the fish gizzard is reached, then move the cut dirty tube to weak water and wash it gently. It may wash out mucus, or sand, or indigestible feed. In short, it is not suitable for eating in the stomach. It will inevitably take two or three minutes to wash a pair, and sometimes I can't help but question: Do the shops selling milkfish sausages wash like this?

Of course, this is a question that cannot bear to be scrutinized. After all, eating out not only eats yin virtue, but also eats character. And a small milkfish, the head and tail are actually worthy of a big book, written in the length of the thesis level. It's just that my generation loves this shape, which is curled like a brain and like an earthworm, and the other parts are naturally left out of the narrative.

[Milkfish intestines. Dry fried flavor]

Material

Milkfish sausage/a pinch of salt/a pinch of white pepper

practice

1. Cut the milkfish intestines open and clean, drain, or gently absorb the water with a kitchen towel;

2. Add a little salt and white pepper, and gently grasp it;

3. Take a dry pot, no need to add oil, medium and low heat. Place the milkfish intestines and fish liver noodles on the pot noodles, and slowly fry the oil until cooked;

4. Fry one side and flip to the other side. Don't keep flipping it, it will fall apart;

4. Fry until you like the aroma.

(If there is too much oil when frying, you can wipe it with a kitchen paper towel. Be careful of oil spray)

[Milkfish intestines. Soy sauce flavor]

Material

Milkfish sausage/shredded ginger, minced garlic, chopped green onion/a little wine/a little soy sauce or salt/a pinch of tempeh

practice

1. Cut milkfish intestines open, clean and drain;

2. Take a shallow pot, add an appropriate amount of water (the amount that can cover the fish intestines slightly), add shredded ginger, minced garlic, chopped green onion, cook on medium heat until slightly boiled, then add the fish intestines;

3. Don't flip. When the fish intestines are half cooked, cook a little rice wine; add some salt or soy sauce as you like;

4. Cook until the water is almost dry, add the tempeh before serving, and it's done.

(Tempeh will make the fish intestines black, so it is not advisable to add it too early; if you like spicy, you can add chili, it should be very spicy, and the chili and ginger should be the same, but it should be light, and the chili and the tempeh should be added together.)