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Text | Yu Jiyuan
Excerpted from the History of The Customs of the Great Northeast
Since ancient times, white fish has been regarded as a treasure of fish, and the Kanto region is rich in large white fish.
White fish is widely documented in literature. The Guangya called it a carp, and the Jade Chapter said: "The fish, the white fish, the fish is also known as the bream." The "Sayings" said: "Fish, white fish also." The "Interview Book" also said: "Among the ice fish, the white fish is the most beautiful." He also said, "Jilin produces the best." Similar records are recorded in the Chronicle of Changchun County, the Chronicle of Dongfeng County, the Chronicle of Dalai County, and the Chronicle of Fusong County and the Chronicle of Huinan County compiled during the Republic of China period. There are also records of the skin color of the white fish. "Sayings": "Thin-scaled white fish, head and tail, the big one or six or seven feet." The "Chronicle of Tonghua County" says: "White fish, white, fine scales, the noble of the fish, the Qing Dynasty as a tribute." The "Chronicle of Huinan County" says: "The shape is narrow and flattened, the fish is thin, and the head and tail are upwards." The "Yingkou Chronicle" says: "The mouth is huge and thin, and the silver carp is similar and narrow." So it can be summarized like this: fine scales are white, narrow-shaped abdomen flattened, head and tail upwards.
The taste of white fish is very delicious, and the "Interview Book" calls it "a rare and delicious product," and the "Yingkou Zhi" says: "The meat is delicious." The "Travels of the Three Eastern Provinces" says: "There is white fish in the Songhua River, which is delicious in between." The thicker the ice of the Songhua River, the ice well is knocked on, leading to the bottom of the river... It is that the colder the weather and the fatter and tastier the fish. "Not only the Songhua River, ussuri river, Xingkai Lake, and Jingpo Lake produce white fish, but also the entire northeast rivers produce white fish." The "Yingkou Chronicle" says: "There are also them in the Liaohe River." The "Manchuria Essentials" written by the Japanese said: "White fish is a famous product of the Yajiang River." The "Introduction to the Three Eastern Provinces" said: "The white fish produced in the Yalu River is larger than other places, more than four feet long, and its main fish area is also near the lower reaches of Andong and Liucao Island, with an annual output of more than 40,000 yuan." Many sources not only record production, but also specifically describe the prices of whitefish and other fish species. For example, Buyeo County in the "Northeast County Chronicle" said that the annual output of white fish is 4500 catties. "Overview of Anguang County" records that the Tao'er River produces 1050 catties of white fish per year. According to the "General Overview of Buyeo County", the annual output of white fish is 40,000 catties. The old fishermen of Xingkai Lake said that it is very normal to catch tens of thousands of pounds in a net during winter fishing. In 1953, Xingkai Lake was hit with 237,996 kilograms of large white fish. From the price comparison, it can also be seen that the value of white fish is the highest in the group of fish. The "General Overview of Buyeo County" contains: white fish 0.70 yuan per kilogram, carp is 0.30 yuan, poach is 0.20 yuan, bream and crucian carp are 0.10 yuan, and catfish and eel are 0.05-0.08 yuan. The "Overview of Anguang County" records that white fish is 0.05 yuan per kilogram, 0.04 yuan for squid and bream, and 0.05 yuan for aohua. That is, the flower is at the same price as the white fish. The current situation is: 70-100 yuan per kilogram of large white fish in Xingkai Lake, and about 10,000 yuan per kilogram of squid roe. It can be seen that the price of white fish from ancient times to the present is the highest. On July 12, 2004, I went to Xingkai Lake to collect wind and ate the second large white fish in the fish house, and a plate of fish (about 1 kilogram) cost nearly 100 yuan.
The great white fish, the salmon in the Ussuri River and the beachhead fish in the Suifen River are called "Three Treasures of Biansai". It is said that when the Qianlong Emperor tasted the great white fish sent by the Guandong Jin Dynasty on his birthday, he immediately praised the great white fish of the Dragon Face and was full of praise, and since then the great white fish has been worth a hundred times and has become a tribute that must be presented to the emperor every year. It is generally offered in winter, drenched in water and frozen, called "hanging flower ice fish". Or rinse the fish with clean, cool boiling water, and the fish will be whiter and brighter, and the snow or water will be poured to freeze and transported to Beijing. According to the book "Guide to the Flavor of Heilongjiang Specialties" (Heilongjiang People's Publishing House, August 1985 edition), "The big white fish is as white as jade, the size is between five and seven kilograms, the eldest is more than ten kilograms, the body is long, the fins and tails are developed, and it is known as a swimming champion." The old fishermen I interviewed said that the largest can reach 200 pounds per tail.
The taste of large white fish is well known for its delicious taste, and there are many ways to cook it. According to the "Appreciation of Famous Foods in Chinese Dynasties" (edited by Ding Tao and Jiang Lisheng, Jiangxi Education Publishing House, August 1999 edition), there are the following preparation methods: fried white fish, white fish, brewed white fish, smoked white fish, wind white fish, white fish round, noodle white fish, white fish drunk, etc. The cooking of the large white fish in Xingkai Lake is very unique, about the eastern flavor. According to the book "Heilongjiang Specialty Flavor Guide", "Along the coast of Xingkai Lake, there is a way to eat white fish stewed in the lake. Wash the live fish, put it in a pot, add the lake water and simmer for 30 minutes, accompanied by salt, pepper and chopped coriander. Its flesh is tender, and its soup is as white as milk, which is unusually delicious. There is also a traditional way to eat, first put the white fish in the pot and steam for 20 minutes, then out of the pot, remove the bone spurs, dry for two days, and the meat is silky. When eaten, it is steamed in a pot for another 10 minutes, and it has a special flavor, called 'crab meat'. It is said that this way of eating was created by The famous general Sabsu who was stationed in Ninguta in the early Qing Dynasty. Once, he invited Wu Zhaoqian, a talented man from Jiangnan and a wanderer known as "amazing talent", to his home as a guest, and this dish was served on the wine table. Sabusu pointed to the dish and said, "This dish is made by vegetarians themselves, and I invite mr. Su to appreciate it." Wu Zhaoqian took several bites and said that it was pine flower snake meat. Sabu Su smiled and did not answer, Wu Zhaoqian tasted a few more bites, saying that it was crab meat, Sabus Su laughed and said: "With Mr. Sabu Su's connoisseurship ability, I am now stinging, which shows that my cooking skills are really messy." Wu Zhaoqian asked, "Why did the general say this?" Isn't it the flesh of a snake and crab?" Sabus said that this is the great white fish of Xingkai, I often eat it, and every time I feel that its taste is similar to the flavor of the Changbai Mountain Pine Flower Snake and the Liaoxi River Crab, so it is made with special skills, and its taste is obtained. Mr. Su Jing is talented and cannot bear to use it alone, so please ask Mr. Su Jing to taste it. Unfortunately, the text of General Sabsu's cooking stunts has not been circulated. In addition to the delicious and strange taste, the great white fish also has high medicinal value, which can supplement the kidney and brain, and open up diuretics. Fish brain, in particular, is a rare and powerful tonic.
In addition, large white fish can also be used to make pearls. According to the book "Fish" (edited by Wu Xianwen and Liu Jiankang, Science Popularization Publishing House, 1958 edition), "the silver-white substance under the white fish squid is extracted, and then it is coated on the inside of the white glass bead, and the paraffin is infused into the bead." First seen in the mid-17th century, this method is more beautiful than pearls and much cheaper. This industry is well developed in France. ”
It can be seen that the great white fish are produced in the south of China and Europe, but the large white fish of Xingkai Lake and the great white fish of songhua River are the best.
In all this, it can be known that it is not surprising that the Emperor of the Qing Dynasty took the great white fish as a tribute. Therefore, "the General of Jilin must pay tribute to the annual gu rain, the winter, the Spring Festival and the emperor's birthday, among which there are fish... Warped whitefish... White Fish et al." (see Golden Buddha Leopard's "Fish Tribute in the Qing Dynasty", Jiangcheng Radio and Television News, September 30, 1990).
Another misunderstanding that seems to be clarified is what an innocent white fish is. The great whitefish is a species of carp in the genus Cyprinidae, and there are as many as seven or eight species of fish, most of which are cocked, difficult for laymen to identify, and it is easy to buy fakes at high prices. There are redfin carp, commonly known as malian fish, small white fish; Flat-bodied bass; Mongolian red carp, commonly known as red tail, red tail tip; Greentail red bass, produced only in Wudalianchi; Xingkai green red carp, commonly known as pot fish; Pointed red carp, only produced in Xiaoxingkai Lake; Warp-billed red carp, commonly known as warped mouth, warped shell, improvised Kai Lake great whitefish; Songhua River red carp, that is, Songhua River big white fish and so on. The best of them are the great white fish of Xingkai Lake and the great white fish of Songhua River. Other sturgeons, either small, or red-tailed, or have black spots on the back, or are turquoise on the sides of the body, or have a grayish-brown or gray-green back, or have a black edge on the caudal fin, or an orange-red caudal fin. Their common feature is that they are not large, at most one or two pounds, and the taste and taste are far inferior to the great white fish of Xingkai Lake and the big white fish of Songhua River. The common denominator of these two large white fish is that the skin color is silver, the mouth is cocked, the taste is delicious, and the size is large (generally in five or six pounds, more than ten pounds, twenty or thirty pounds, and some can reach more than 100 pounds). Some sources say that the maximum lifespan of these two species of whitefish is 8 years, which I am a little skeptical about. European scholars have determined that the lifespan of carp is 300 years, and it is indeed reliably recorded that carp can live for 47 years, and it is not unusual to live to thirty or forty years in China. Bream is 7 years old, crucian carp is more than 10 years old, catfish is 100 years old, and pike fish is 200 years old. This is inferred from the rings of scales, vertebrae, gills, otoliths, and pectoral fins. The large white fish can weigh up to 200 pounds, and it cannot grow so big in 8 years.
Now, the Great White Fish of the Songhua River is threatened with extinction. Due to the blind introduction of Japanese small white fish (commonly known as cucumber incense), it was originally thought that it would promote the increase of fishery production, and it could provide bait for large fish such as large white fish in the Songhua River, but it did not expect that this small white fish multiplied rapidly, and only ate the eggs laid by large white fish, resulting in a sharp decrease in the number of large white fish. The small white fish provided nourishment for the great white fish, but fundamentally destroyed the great white fish. The scientific research unit of the great white fish in Xingkai Lake is engaged in the cross-breeding and breeding of large white fish, establishing breeding ponds and cultivating fish fry, which gives a glimmer of hope to save the endangered Songhua River white fish.
In fact, the great white fish of Xingkai Lake and the great white fish of Songhua River are two close relatives, not exactly one kind of fish, the skin color is not the same, and the color of the fins is not the same. The large white fish of Songhua River has a longer head and a small eye diameter than the large white fish of Xingkai Lake; The lateral line is below the central axis; The dorsal fin is tall, about the same length as the head; The pectoral fin reaches or exceeds the base of the ventral fin. However, the taste and nutritional content of the two are not equal. In addition, the Jilin people call the juvenile fish of the Songhua River great white fish "Daozi" (Daozi may be Tungusic, which cannot be interpreted in Chinese), while Xingkai Lake does not have the term "Island". Other fish sold by traders in the market are now also called "islands", which is another misunderstanding. "Shimako" is the juvenile fish of the Great WhiteFish of the Songhua River, and it cannot be called "Shimako".