Fishermen at Xinying Wharf in Danzhou clean and marinate redfish. [Photo by Chen Yuancai/For Chinadaily.com.cn]
Fishermen at Xinying Wharf in Danzhou, Hainan province, are busy marinating and drying redfish ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday.
More than a thousand years ago, local people developed the method for marinating fish and other seafood in coarse salt — a tradition that has been passed on until today.
Now it's peak season for the commercial production and sales of dried redfish in Danzhou. Customers both on and off the tropical island have been ordering seafood products, especially dried redfish.
There are many ways to eat it. Not only can it be cooked as a dish alone but it can also be made into delicacies with other foods — for example, steamed redfish pork belly, redfish papaya soup, pan-fried dried redfish, redfish porridge and redfish rice.
A man surnamed Chen from Danzhou gets emotional when talking about redfish. In his childhood, during Spring Festival, his father often bought a dried redfish and cooked it for the family.
"When I was a kid, eating dried redfish was the happiest thing. I could eat several bowls of rice with small pieces of dried redfish. I ate bit by bit, savored it carefully, and the taste was incredible," he said. "When the meat was eaten, the fish head was used to cook dried bamboo shoots or to make porridge. My advice is to eat redfish porridge when it's hot. It is really delicious."
Now, ahead of Spring Festival, Chen maintains his habit of buying several dried redfish for his family and friends. He shares his childhood memories of eating redfish with his children.
In Hainan cuisine, stewed salted fish with eggplant is popular, especially during the holiday. The salty fish in the dish is usually dried redfish.
Redfish dries at Xinying Wharf in Danzhou, Hainan province. [Photo by Chen Yuancai/For Chinadaily.com.cn]
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