More food on the go! We still have a lot to talk about about the absolutely wonderful food we ate during our trip to the Chaoshan 潮汕 area of Guangdong 廣東. Oh dear readers, the food was so fabulously satisfying! It’s always so nice to find yourself in a place where everything you eat is delicious, amirite!?
So this post is about the Chaoshan specialty, pickled raw seafood 潮汕生腌海鲜. Fresh fish marinated in soy sauce, wine and herbs is a rare delight. It’s a simple process to prepare, requiring only soy sauce, flavorings, a touch of oil and a little time. The only and important! The trick to pickled raw seafood is that the seafood needs to be super fresh.
Unfortunately, this type of food is nowhere to be found in Hong Kong. I think it’s not allowed. Which is understandable, because like I said the fish has to be damn fresh otherwise. But damn, man, it’s still 😔.
That’s why we were in a taxi wandering the night streets of Shantou 汕頭, the first city in the Chaoshan area of our trip, the work of my husband (the reason for the trip) done for the day. We asked the friendly and chatty taxi driver if there were any restaurants still open that served pickled raw seafood. He chuckled and said yes, of course there were (Yes!). He took us to what he promised to be one of the best in the city, 長平胖姐. (No official English name, but the translation is “Changping Fat Sister. Cute, huh?”)
Entering the front of the restaurant was a jaw-dropping experience. There was a feast of offerings on display for our choosing: gorgeous, glittering pickled raw seafood and more, so much more. Oh what a joy! Reversed, from top left: raw pickled mantis shrimp, raw pickled oysters, raw pickled lobster and raw pickled crab.
Not only pickled seafood, but all kinds of Chaoshan seafood! The famous “Chaoshan fish rice” 潮汕魚飯 is offered here. This dish has evolved from ancient times, when fishing boats went out to sea for long periods. They didn’t have rice with them but they fed completely on the fish they caught, hence the reason for calling this fish dish “fish rice”. Using smaller fish that couldn’t be sold, they pickled them briefly in seawater, then boiled them whole, with guts and scales intact. The fish were then left to air dry.
Using this method produces sweet and juicy fish meat as all the flavors of the very fresh fish are preserved because the cooked fish is intact, with no broken skin. Brilliant method, amirite! To eat, first peel the skin, scales and all. It should come off pretty easily in one fell swoop. Then you can devour all the sweet white pulp of the sea to your heart’s content.
Oooo… clockwise from top right: cooked and marinated chicken feet, fish cakes, dried and marinated shrimp, stir-fried vegetables, etc. There is so much to choose from!
Never ending seafood! I’m not entirely sure what some of these are since we haven’t tried them. My best guess from top left clockwise: three shell vases? filled with fresh and dried chillies and Szechuan pepper (I’m not sure how it is eaten), boiled conch with conch, steamed fish. So many choices!!
We finally decided, although it was very difficult with all the delicious things on display. I mean, man, how do you decide between delicious and more delicious? After some hesitation we finally managed to leave the shop and return to our hotel, loaded with bags and bags of raw pickled seafood. Midnight party!
Ok, now let’s move on to our delicious loot in detail. Back at the hotel we spread everything out on a table. Oooo, look at this, isn’t your mouth salivating at the sight of this? Raw pickled sea snails 腌花螺 and raw pickled clams 腌血蚶 swim in the sweet yet flavorful marinade of soy sauce, vinegar, wine, sugar, coriander, chilies and garlic.
We used a toothpick to extract the chewy, garlic-soaked meat from the snails while the clams were already open. I just needed to tear off the meaty flesh inside.
Keep in mind that the pickling marinade is the same for all seafood. However, the marinating time varies depending on the fish. Some are marinated only for a short time, others overnight.
This is the star of this pickled show, raw pickled crab 腌螃蟹. This is my favorite, favorite, favorite!! Using the same delicious marinade described above, the crab is brined overnight to soak it all up. The result? The crab meat becomes translucent and slightly sticky, soaked and flavored with the marinade. And the eggs! Can you see those beautiful, beautiful red eggs? Oh my god, so damn good!
Marinated raw oysters, fresh, plump oysters that slide down your throat.
This dish was unusual. A perfect type of appetizer/snack. Tiny shrimp marinated in two different flavors, then dried so that the flavors remain absorbed into the shrimp. Chewy, shrimpy, flavorful, it was the perfect textural contrast to the softness of the pickled seafood.
Last but not least, another pickled favorite of mine, raw pickled shrimp 生醃蝦. In the shell the prawns are peeled and then pickled for a short time. The pickled shrimp meat transforms into the delicious gelatinous yet chewy texture with the sweetest taste of the sea. Oh, it’s so good, definitely my favorite along with the crab.
Seafood lovers, don’t forget to suck all that delicious meat out of the shrimp head!
Oh, I almost forgot. This is an overlooked part of the true and authentic Chaoshan pickled raw seafood feast. DO you HAVE to have it with a bowl or two of plain congee? At first glance it seems like a strange and unnecessary part of a seafood feast, amirite?
But once you try it, you will immediately understand the absolute importance of pure and simple white rice porridge in the dough. The bland creaminess provides the perfect counterpoint and balance to the decadence of the pickled seafood. It’s the other half, the ying to the yang.
Oh, how we celebrated that night! It was truly delicious! Later we tried another pickled raw fish dish in Chaozhou 潮州, the second city in the Chaoshan area we visited but, although it was very good, it was not as good as the midnight feast we had in our room. hotel that night. I think it’s because Shantou city is right next to the sea. Freshness is goodness, amirite?!
If you ever get a chance to go to Shantou or Chaozhou, or any of the other cities in the Chaoshan area, and you are a seafood lover, try the pickled raw seafood. I promise it will be an experience you won’t forget. I know we didn’t and we’re already trying to find excuses to go back and eat some more of that seafood wonder!
