Part 19: Freshwater Fishes (Part 3): Eels, Culter alburnus, Wuchang bream, Songjiang perch, and Cephalopods

10. Eel

Eels are also known as long fish or yellow eels.

It has a snake-like body shape, is cylindrical, scaleless, and has a smooth mucus layer on its body surface. Its back is bluish-brown with grayish-brown spots.

The gills are underdeveloped, and the skin inside the mouth and throat cavity serves as an auxiliary organ for respiration.

Eels are wild fish species unique to my country. They live in rice paddies and ponds and ditches near rice paddies, emerging in summer and hibernating in winter.

It is produced in all parts of my country except the Northwest, with the largest quantity found in the Jiangnan region.

Nutrition and health care

Eels contain abundant histidine, which is the main component of their umami flavor. After death, histidine decomposes rapidly into toxic histamine, so dead eels should not be eaten.

Every 100g of edible portion of eel contains 17.2g of protein and 0.9g of fat, as well as minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, and iron.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is sweet and warm in nature, and has the effects of replenishing deficiencies, dispelling wind and dampness, strengthening muscles and bones, and invigorating kidney yang.

Cooking applications

Eel is delicious and tender. Most of the time, the bones are removed and the meat is used for cooking. It is suitable for stir-frying, quick-frying, braising, deep-frying, and quick-frying, such as stir-fried eel shreds, five-color eel shreds, stewed raw and crispy fried eel, and stuffed eel rolls.

11. Culter alburnus

The whitefish is also known as the whitefish or the mandarin fish.

It has a slender body, generally around 25 to 40 cm long, and is laterally flattened and thin, resembling a willow leaf.

The back is straight, and the forehead is lower than the back.

The mouth is positioned at the top, with the lower jaw protruding and upturned.

Large eyes, small scales.

The lateral lines are distinct, curving slightly upwards at the front and running horizontally across the middle of the side of the body at the rear.

It has one pair of pectoral fins and one pair of pelvic fins, and one dorsal fin and one anal fin.

The dorsal fin has large, smooth, hard spines, the anal fin is long, and the caudal fin is deeply forked.

Its back is light brown, its sides are silvery-gray, and its belly is silvery-white.

It is distributed in the middle and upper layers of rivers and lakes throughout the country, with the Songhua River being the most famous.

Culter alburnus is an economically valuable fish with high nutritional value, rich in protein and fat.

The meat is white and tender, with many bones, making it suitable for steaming or pan-frying.

Nutrition and health care

Every 100g of edible portion of bream contains 14.2–19.3g of protein and 0.3–5.0g of fat.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is sweet and neutral in nature, and has the effects of stimulating appetite and strengthening the spleen, promoting digestion and urination, nourishing the liver and improving eyesight.

Cooking applications

The flesh of the bream is white and tender, but it has many bones.

Larger ones are best steamed, as they are tender, smooth, and have an excellent flavor; smaller ones are best marinated with seasonings and then pan-fried or deep-fried.

In addition, methods such as braising and smoking can also be used.

12. Wuchang fish

Its scientific name is *Brucea buxifolia*, and it was formerly known as Wuchang fish, bream, or short-necked bream. It is also called E'cheng bream, E'cheng knife fish, or short-necked blunt-snout bream.

It is tall and flat, and appears diamond-shaped when viewed from the side.

The body length is 17-32cm, and the caudal peduncle is high and short.

It has a short head, a rounded snout, and a deeply forked tail fin.

The body is grayish-black with a coppery sheen on the back, grayish-white on the belly, and bluish-gray on the fins.

Together with the Changchun bream (also known as the bream flower) and the triangular bream (also known as the horned bream), they are known as the three sisters of bream.

They are mainly distributed in lakes connected to the Yangtze River in the middle reaches, such as Liangzi Lake and Poyang Lake.

The fish produced in the Fankou area, where Liangzi Lake flows into the Yangtze River, are the most plump and delicious.

The blunt snout bream has now been introduced to most parts of the country for artificial breeding.

Nutrition and health care

Wuchang fish contains 15.4-21.0g of protein per 100g of edible portion. The fat content varies greatly depending on the place of origin, with fish from Jiangsu containing about 0.9g and fish from Hubei containing about 15.8g.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is sweet and neutral in nature, and has the effect of strengthening the spleen and stomach.

Cooking applications

Wuchang fish has tender flesh, is rich in fat, and is delicious. It is best steamed to bring out its original flavor and rich broth.

It can also be braised, or combined with other high-end ingredients to make stuffings, fish balls, fish cakes, etc.

13. Songjiang perch

Also known as four-gill perch, flower drum fish, daughter-in-law fish, etc.

The anterior part of the body is flat and gradually tapers to a laterally flattened shape at the posterior part. It is about 5 to 17 cm long. The head is large and flat, with small eyes, positioned laterally and superiorly, and a blunt snout with a wide and flat mouth.

The back is yellowish-brown with 4-5 black transverse stripes, and the belly is grayish-white.

It is a benthic carnivorous fish.

It is mainly distributed in the Yellow Sea, East China Sea, Bohai Sea and other sea areas and the lower reaches of rivers in China.

The best quality comes from the riverbank near Xiuyeqiao in Songjiang County, Shanghai, and it was once listed as a tribute item.

The Songjiang four-gilled perch is one of the most delicious wild fish, and is ranked alongside water shield and water bamboo as one of the three famous dishes of Jiangnan; it is also ranked alongside Yellow River carp, mandarin fish, and Xingkai Lake whitefish as one of the four major freshwater fish in China.

Nutrition and health care

Songjiang perch contains approximately 14.6–17.5g of protein, 0.5–3.1g of fat, and 131–322mg of phosphorus per 100g of edible portion, as well as calcium, iron, and vitamins.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is sweet and neutral in nature, and can benefit the spleen and stomach, nourish the liver and kidneys. It can treat edema, wind-dampness, stomach pain, spleen deficiency diarrhea, indigestion and other symptoms.

Cooking applications

Sea bass has tender and delicious flesh. When sea bass is cooked in chicken broth, the soup turns milky white and is called chicken broth with sea bass, a famous Shanghai dish.

It can also be cooked by braising, stewing, or freezing, such as braised sea bass slices, crystal sea bass slices, and stewed sea bass slices with bok choy.

Sliced ​​perch is one of the famous dishes in ancient times, and there is also the story of "longing for perch and water shield".

During the Western Jin Dynasty, Zhang Han served under King Jiong of Qi. When the autumn winds rose, he longed for the water chestnuts, water shield, and four-gilled perch of his hometown Wuzhong, so he resigned his post and returned home.

From then on, "longing for home" became a metaphor for homesickness.

Cephalopods and crustaceans

Cephalopods are invertebrate molluscs that are not actually fish, such as cuttlefish, octopus, and squid.

Crustaceans are aquatic arthropods with a hard cephalothorax, such as snails, shrimp, crabs, and turtles.

1. Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish, also known as squid, cuttlefish, or blackfish.

It is produced along the coast of my country, with the largest output coming from the waters off Zhejiang and Fujian.

There are many types of cuttlefish. Among them, the most common ones in my country are the golden cuttlefish from the northern sea area and the needleless cuttlefish from the southeastern sea area.

Cuttlefish are divided into two parts: the head and the body.

The body length is generally 10-15cm.

The carcass is thin, slightly flattened on the back and abdomen, symmetrical on both sides, and oval in shape.

The fleshy fins are relatively narrow, located along the entire sides of the body, and separate at the ends of the left and right sides.

The back has calcareous material (cuttlebone) embedded under the skin.

It has two very well-developed eyes on its head.

The mouth is located in the center of the four pairs of short arms at the front of the head, and there are two palates on the outside.

The front of the head is surrounded by 5 pairs of arms, 4 of which are shorter and each has 4 rows of suckers; the other pair of arms are very long and are called tentacles, with suckers only at the top, small and dense. There is a funnel under the head, which is the outlet for reproductive cells, waste excretion, breathing air, spraying water and ink, and is also the organ of locomotion.

It has an ink sac inside its body, which contains black liquid. When it encounters an enemy, it sprays out ink to defend itself.

Cuttlefish are warm-water, swimming, mid-to-lower-level mollusks.

They are active and mainly feed on crustaceans, but also eat small fish. The edible part of the cuttlefish accounts for about 92% of its total weight.

Nutrition and health care

Fresh cuttlefish contains 13-17.1g of protein, 0.4-5.5g of fat, 14mg of calcium, 75mg of phosphorus per 100g of edible portion, as well as some vitamins.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is salty and neutral in nature, and can nourish blood and yin, and tonify the liver and kidneys. It has a certain curative effect on gynecological diseases such as amenorrhea due to blood deficiency, metrorrhagia, and leukorrhea.

Cooking applications

Fresh snakehead fish has white flesh that is crisp, tender, and delicious, making it ideal for stir-frying or deep-frying.

You can also blanch it in boiling water and then stir-fry or mix it; it's crisp, tender, and smooth with a unique flavor.

Its famous dishes include: stir-fried cuttlefish flowers, stir-fried double scallions, poached cuttlefish flowers, stir-fried cuttlefish slices with coriander, and three kinds of fresh cuttlefish.

2. Octopus

Octopus is also known as eight-banded fish or octopus.

Its body is small and round.

It has four pairs of arms, each quite long, with two rows of suckers on each arm. They are white, smooth, and have no internal bone shell.

It is produced along the coast of my country, with the Bohai Sea producing the most.

Octopus, 94% of which is edible.

Nutrition and health care

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that it is salty and cold in nature, and can nourish blood and qi, astringe vitality, and promote lactation.

Cooking applications

Octopus meat is soft and tender, making it ideal for stir-frying or mixing, resulting in a fresh, delicious, and mellow flavor.

It is also suitable for stir-frying, or cooking with vegetables such as leek sprouts, garlic shoots, and rapeseed.