Oysters today are nowhere near as expensive as they were in later years, costing tens of dollars each. Oyster sauce is also quite cheap, and many fishermen make their own for self-sufficiency.
When Li Xiangdong mentioned wanting to get some oysters, Grandpa Li was very supportive, saying, "There are plenty of oysters on the rocks on the west side of Beiluo Island. I'll take you there tomorrow!"
Oysters are fresh, but without cold chain logistics, they would spoil by the time they reach Huichuan. So Li Xiangdong wanted to get some dried oysters.
Upon hearing this, Li Jinyin exclaimed, "I have dried oysters at home, all sun-dried! They can be pan-fried, steamed, stir-fried, or used in porridge or soup!"
Li Guoqing humbly asked, "What does 'sun-dried' mean? Is there such a thing as 'cooked-dry'?"
Grandpa Li stroked his gray beard. "Of course. Sun-dried oysters are made by simply taking out the oyster meat and air-drying it for fifteen days. During these fifteen days, they need to be turned over several times a day to make them especially delicious."
"Sun-dried oysters are oysters that have been cooked and then sun-dried or baked. These oysters are not fragrant, taste dry, and have a fishy smell."
Li Guoqing nodded repeatedly, indicating that he had learned something.
Professor Liu just said that they expect to stay on the island for another two days, and told Li Xiangdong to hurry up and do anything he wants to do.
It is now the 14th day of the second lunar month. According to fishermen's experience, the best time to go beachcombing is from 4:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
So, at five o'clock the next morning, Li Xiangdong and Li Guoqing, led by Grandpa Li, went to the beach fully armed.
They wore gloves to avoid being cut by the sharp oyster shells, and carried several tools in their baskets, including a special hammer, a spatula, and fire tongs.
This hammer is made of steel bars, one end of which is ground into a sharp, curved shape, so that it can easily pry open oyster shells.
When they arrived, the tide hadn't completely receded yet, but there were already many people scattered in different places on the beach, intently enjoying the beachcombing.
Ouch!
Li Guoqing screamed, "Oh no! There's a cactus! It's going to prick me!"
Li Xiangdong looked down and saw that Li Guoqing had tripped over something and was lying on a dark, spiky ball of fur.
He helped Li Guoqing up and carefully examined his hand. Seeing that there were only red marks from the prick and no bleeding, he was relieved.
Grandpa Li used fire tongs to pick up the fuzzy ball and toss it into the basket, laughing heartily, "This is a sea urchin, not a cactus! You're lucky, little one. Pick up a few more, and I'll make you steamed sea urchin eggs when we get back."
Sea urchin roe
Steamed Sea Urchin with Egg
sea urchin
Upon closer inspection, Li Xiangdong recognized the long, bristly hairs, resembling a small monster; it was indeed a sea urchin.
He took the sea urchin out of Grandpa Li's basket, removed part of the top of the sea urchin, then used the knife he carried to peel it open, threw away the dark internal organs, washed it with clean water, and what was left inside were five orange-yellow petals and small granules of sea urchin roe.
The five plump and vibrant sea urchin roe resembles a beautiful chrysanthemum.
Li Xiangdong handed it to Li Guoqing, "Try it!"
Besides being used in steamed eggs, sea urchins can also be used to make sea urchin dumplings, or eaten raw.
No seasoning is needed; the sea urchin roe is sweet and slightly salty, with a smooth texture on the tongue that is quite delightful.
Li Guoqing was initially skeptical about whether this ugly thing was edible, but as soon as he put the sea urchin roe into his mouth, he felt as if he had suddenly tasted the ocean.
He kept his eyes tightly shut, and only opened them after a long while, saying with a look of enjoyment, "So delicious!"
Li Xiangdong said with a smile, "Let's find a few more, and we'll make dumplings with sea urchin roe!"
Grandpa Li had already caught several cat's-eye snails by this time.
Li Xiangdong also looked down carefully and suddenly found a yellowish-white snail shell half-buried in the sand at his feet. He reached out and dug it out, rinsed it in the seawater, and turned it over. He saw that its thick snail meat was all exposed.
He gently touched the snail meat, and countless jets of water sprayed out from the edge of the snail meat. Then, after a short while, the snail meat retracted into its shell.
"This is a cat's eye snail."
Cat's eye snails that squirt water when fully saturated
Grandpa Li also collected a lot of cat's-eye snails, saying, "I'll braise them when I get home!"
He then pointed at the two of them, "See this opening? Dig deeper, there are razor clams inside."
Spicy stir-fried razor clams are also Li Xiangdong's favorite. He knows that when going beachcombing, if you sprinkle salt into the razor clam burrows, the razor clams will pop out with a "beng-er" sound. People can easily harvest a razor clam with just a gentle pull.
However, they don't produce sea salt on their island; they rely entirely on exchanging goods on the shore, so no one is willing to waste salt to catch razor clams.
Li Guoqing dug down with his shovel, but missed. Undeterred, he dug for a long time in the direction Grandpa Li had pointed out, but the razor clams still escaped.
Just then, an old man came over carrying a full basket of octopus, mahi-mahi, mantis shrimp, and some snails. "Old Li, you're late today!"
Grandpa Li chuckled and asked, "You've collected them all?"
"It's full, I'm going now—"
Seeing others returning with their spoils, Grandpa Li waved his shovel and said, "Let's hurry up, or all the good stuff will be gone!"
So the three of them separated and each went in a different direction.
Along the way, Li Xiangdong picked up two more cat's-eye snails, a mahi-mahi crab with its large claws broken, and two octopuses.
The octopus, with its suckers-covered tentacles, kept waving and clinging to Li Xiangdong's arm. It took Li Xiangdong a lot of effort to finally pull it off his arm and throw it into the basket.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com