What seafood to eat in winter

The varieties of vegetables and seafood produced in each season are different, so the food people eat in each season is also different. In winter, most areas are relatively cold, so the output of vegetables is also reduced. Only a few areas will choose to eat seafood in winter, because seafood is a cool food, eating it in winter will aggravate the coldness of the human body. So what seafood can people who like to eat seafood eat in winter?

What seafood to eat in winter?

1. Winter Crab

In the cold winter, many seafoods are no longer tasty. Even many fish and shrimps have entered their growth period. But winter crabs are different from others. At this time, winter crabs are still very plump. The paste is very thick and sweet.

Winter crabs must be steamed. Any other method will not bring out the sweetness of the crab. Winter crabs eaten in Zhoushan are very light. They are usually steamed in water without adding any onions, ginger or garlic. After steaming for more than ten minutes, you can eat it directly without any dipping sauce. When people in Zhoushan eat seafood, they pay attention to its freshness. If they add dipping sauce, it would waste the freshness.

2. Hairtail

Hairtail in winter is the fattest and most beautiful. According to experts, winter is the peak season for catching hairtail. At this time, hairtail accumulates fat in its body in preparation for wintering, so the meat is thick, oily and tastes particularly good. Hairtail is a common dish on the table and is rich in protein. Hairtail is rich in nutritional value and is a favorite of many people. Children who often eat fish can also benefit from its brain-boosting effect.

When purchasing, the best hairtails are those with a broad and thick body, bright eyes, a white body with bright spots and a silver-pink film. If the fish body is yellow, dull, has mucus, has red meat and black gills, and a broken belly, it is a low-quality hairtail and should not be eaten. In addition, people suffering from sores and scabies should eat less hairtail.

3. Clams

Commonly known as car conch, flower clam, yellow clam, and sea clam. Clams are mainly produced in coastal areas. They have high economic value, rich nutrition, delicious meat, rich nutrition, and high therapeutic and medicinal value. According to legend, Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty ate clams in Suzhou when he traveled to the south of the Yangtze River and named it "the most delicious food in the world."

Put the clams you bought into clean water with a little salt. Do not use fresh water. If you need to store them, you can put them in the refrigerator. However, it is best to buy clams as you eat them. Buy only as much as you need and do not buy too much at one time.

4. Scallops

As the weather gets colder, fewer and fewer fishermen go out to sea to fish, and the variety and quantity of fresh marine fish on the market have decreased a lot. For the people of Dalian who love fresh food, scallops, which are not restricted by season, just fill this gap. Scallops are internationally recognized as high-end aquatic products; dried scallops are called "dried scallops", which are precious marine delicacies, containing an average of 5.43% glycogen, as well as alanine and succinic acid, making them "the best in the world".

Shellfish must be eaten alive. Shellfish themselves carry relatively high levels of bacteria and their protein decomposes quickly. Once they die, they will multiply bacteria and produce toxins in large quantities. At the same time, the unsaturated fatty acids they contain are also easily oxidized and become rancid. Unfresh shellfish will also produce more amines and free radicals, posing a threat to human health. After purchasing live scallops, do not store them at home for too long and cook them as soon as possible.

5. Crucian carp

As the saying goes, "crucian carp in winter and carp in summer", after the beginning of winter, it is the spawning period of crucian carp, the meat is fat and has many seeds, and the taste is delicious. The medicinal value of crucian carp is also extremely high. It is sweet, flat and warm in nature. It enters the stomach and kidney. It has the effects of harmonizing the middle and replenishing deficiency, removing dampness and promoting diuresis, replenishing deficiency and winning, warming the stomach and promoting food, replenishing the middle and nourishing qi, nourishing and promoting lactation, clearing away heat and detoxifying. It has direct or auxiliary effects on the treatment of spleen and stomach weakness, poor appetite and fatigue, edema due to nephritis, ascites due to liver disease, postpartum lack of milk, dysentery, and bloody stools.

Generally speaking, crucian carp weighing half a catty to one catty has the most tender meat. Crucian carp can be roasted, stewed, or braised, and is most delicious when made into soup, such as crucian carp tofu soup, crucian carp and pig's trotter soup, etc. Although crucian carp is good for nourishing, it is not suitable for everyone. If you have a cold and fever, you should not eat too much crucian carp; people with yang deficiency and internal heat should avoid eating it; people who are prone to heat and ulcers should also avoid eating it.

6. Seabass

Sea bass is very plump and delicious in winter. Not only is its meat as white as snow and delicate, but the nutrients accumulated in the fish body are also the most abundant. Therefore, winter is the best season to taste sea bass! Sea bass has the effects of strengthening the spleen and stomach, nourishing the liver and kidneys, and resolving phlegm and relieving cough. It has a very good tonic effect on people with liver and kidney deficiency. It can also treat symptoms such as weak spleen and stomach, indigestion, and edema.

Fish meat is fine and has short fibers, so it is very easy to break. When cutting fish, the skin should be facing down and the knife should be inserted at an angle, preferably along the fish bones, so that the cut is cleaner and neater. There is a layer of mucus on the fish skin which is very slippery, so it is not easy to cut. If you soak your hands in salt water for a while when cutting fish, you will not slip when cutting.

7. Small yellow croaker

The small yellow croaker in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar has plump, tender meat that melts in your mouth. Yellow croaker has tender meat, delicious taste and few bones. It has been known as "fine golden scales and soft jade paste" since ancient times. Yellow croaker is rich in nutrients. The fresh product has high protein content, and the content of inorganic salts such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, and iodine is also high. The fish meat tissue is soft and easy to digest and absorb. The best thing is that its "garlic meat" has no broken thorns, making it most suitable for consumption by the elderly, children and the chronically ill and weak.

There are many ways to cook yellow croaker, such as braised yellow croaker, fried yellow croaker, sweet and sour yellow croaker, stir-fried yellow croaker, steamed yellow croaker, yellow croaker puree porridge, etc. Although yellow croaker has high edible value, eating too much of it can easily cause phlegm, poison, sores and heat, so those who have excessive phlegm and heat and are prone to ulcers should not eat too much.

8. Tiger Prawn

There are two spawning periods in my country's coastal areas every year, from February to April and from August to November. The tiger prawns are the fattest during the spawning period. Tiger prawns are warm in nature, sweet in taste, and slightly warm. They enter the liver and kidney meridians. They have the effects of tonifying the kidney and strengthening yang, promoting lactation and resisting toxins, nourishing blood and consolidating essence, removing blood stasis and detoxifying, invigorating qi and nourishing yang, dredging meridians and relieving pain, and stimulating appetite and resolving phlegm.

Shrimp will flex as they cook, so don't cook them for too long as this will cause the meat to become tough and dry. Shrimp, whether shelled or unshelled, can be cooked in water or broth. Shrimp shells are an excellent raw material for cooking shrimp meat. You can put the shrimp shells into boiling water and simmer them for about 10 minutes. Then filter the shrimp shells from the water and cook the shrimp meat in the soup.