As soon as he got home, Feng Ye shouted at the top of his lungs, "A-Ling, get the kitchen knife and cutting board ready to work!"
"What? You brought the fish back again? Aren't you worried that the weather won't dry them and you'll end up with nothing to show for your efforts..."
Ye Qingling's complaining voice came from the kitchen.
"There are no fish today, not a single one. I'm also worried that the weather won't be good."
"Then what do you need a knife and cutting board for?"
"Ah Chan and I caught some jellyfish, we need to process them quickly to add two dishes to dinner."
Ye Qingling poked her head out from the kitchen: "Jellyfish? I don't know how to cook it!"
"I'll teach you."
"Eh..."
When Ye Qingling came out with a kitchen knife and cutting board, Feng Ye also unloaded the jellyfish from the cart.
Six jellyfish filled three baskets, two jellyfish per basket.
The other, biggest one, was taken home by Ah-chan.
Don't be fooled by how heavy jellyfish are; they're actually all water.
Therefore, in terms of volume, it is not too large.
Feng Ye was speechless when he saw what Ye Qingling was holding.
"You really only brought out a kitchen knife and a cutting board? Couldn't you have brought out something else?"
Ye Qingling was stunned for a moment, then said coquettishly, "Who told you not to explain clearly yourself, and now you're blaming me?"
Feng Ye shook his head helplessly: "Never mind, I'll go get it myself."
He went into the kitchen and took out two buckets, a large bowl and a washbasin, and then went to the main room to get two stools.
"Aren't Mother and Sister-in-law home?"
"They went out after lunch, I don't know where they went." Ye Qingling then asked, "What should we do with the jellyfish?"
"Let me demonstrate for you."
Feng Ye poured a jellyfish onto the cutting board.
This jellyfish isn't very big, only about 30 pounds.
"Be careful of jellyfish tentacles, they are poisonous. To avoid being stung, you should first remove any stinging tentacles, and it's best to wear gloves."
As Feng Ye explained, he carefully removed the jellyfish's tentacles.
His technique was both skillful and cautious, as if he were afraid of accidentally hurting himself.
Jellyfish have hook-shaped filaments coiled around their tentacles, which they can spray out to pierce and paralyze their prey before enjoying their meal.
Of course, jellyfish can also sting humans, and if not treated promptly, it can be life-threatening.
"After dealing with the tentacles, the next step is its tentacles. There's no need to cut them off completely; they can be broken down into smaller pieces."
This part is the jellyfish's tentacles, which are thick and have a crisp texture; fishermen call them "jellyfish claws."
When it's served at the dinner table, it's usually called jellyfish head.
Jellyfish head is commonly used in cold dishes, and jellyfish head with aged vinegar is one of the most classic appetizers.
In addition, it can also be used for braising or splattering with oil.
Because jellyfish heads have a slightly lower water content and a chewy texture, coupled with their ability to withstand both cold and heat, they easily become a versatile ingredient.
"The next step is to remove the jellyfish brain, which is this jelly-like thing..."
Jellyfish do not have a brain, which is a higher organ; as mentioned earlier, this is the jellyfish's gonad.
Jellyfish brains are difficult to preserve and must be eaten fresh; once you leave the coast, they become hard to find.
The most common way to prepare it is to make soup. The cleaned jellyfish brains are poured into boiling water, and after a while, they float to the surface like egg flowers. Then, sprinkle with chopped scallions, cilantro, and other ingredients, and it's ready to serve.
Jellyfish brains can also be used to stir-fry eggs. Simply beat them together with the eggs, pour the mixture into the pan after the oil is hot, and turn off the heat once the egg mixture has solidified. No additional seasoning is needed; it will be delicious enough on its own.
"After the jellyfish brain is removed, we start to peel off the jellyfish blood, which is the brown membrane inside the cap."
This is the most expensive part of the jellyfish.
It must be torn off quickly while the jellyfish is fresh; if left for too long, it will become impossible to tear off.
A jellyfish weighing around 500 pounds can only yield a maximum of three to four pounds of jellyfish blood.
Whether stir-fried or stewed, jellyfish blood tastes like lean meat, but with the fresh flavor of the ocean.
"This thing is really hard to tear; it tears easily."
Ye Qingling frowned, looking at the slippery jellyfish cap in her hand with some difficulty.
She had never processed jellyfish before. Everything else was fine, but she was hesitant to tear jellyfish blood, mainly because it was easy to tear.
"Don't rush, take your time. It's normal to be clumsy the first time you tear it, but you'll get the hang of it after a few tries."
Feng Ye quickly comforted her, adding, "Besides, it doesn't matter if it's torn; you can just tear it all off."
As he spoke, he carefully tore off the jellyfish blood from the jellyfish in his hand.
He was very familiar with dissecting jellyfish; he had done it countless times in his past life.
After removing the jellyfish blood, what's left is the jellyfish skin.
"Aside from the blood being a bit difficult to tear, the jellyfish is quite easy to cut."
"The cutting is indeed simple, but the marinating is difficult and very troublesome."
"Is it complicated? How do I do it?"
"It's hard to explain in just a few words. I'll explain it to you in detail when I'm marinating them. Now, let's finish preparing these jellyfish."
"oh."
Ye Qingling nodded and continued to carefully tear apart the jellyfish blood, which had been torn to shreds countless times.
Six jellyfish are not many, and they are easy to decompose, so they were decomposed quickly.
That's it?
Ye Qingling was still somewhat unsatisfied.
She found breaking down jellyfish quite fun, as it felt bouncy and chewy to the touch.
"I'll bring back a lot more tomorrow, enough for you to break down until you're sick of it."
"Then forget it. We can't eat that much anyway, it's too wasteful. We might as well sell it."
"Whatever makes you happy."
Feng Ye smiled and said, "A-Ling, go boil a pot of water and cook the jellyfish blood, then take it out to dry. Save the jellyfish brain for tonight, and blanch the rest as well. I'll go prepare the jellyfish head and skin."
Jellyfish blood can be preserved for a considerable period of time by simply boiling it in water and drying it in the sun.
Jellyfish brains are not easy to preserve and therefore not valuable, but they can be preserved for one or two days without spoiling after blanching.
Of course, it must be stored at a low temperature.
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingling slapped her thigh: "Oh no, I forgot I was making tea, I don't know if the fire has gone out."
As she spoke, she rushed off to the kitchen.
Feng Ye shook his head, went inside and brought out a large vat, washed the jellyfish heads and skins, and put them into the vat.
Then he went into the kitchen, opened the cabinets, and began rummaging through everything in sight.
What are you looking for?
Ye Qingling, who was tending the fire, asked in confusion.
"Alum is used to marinate jellyfish heads and jellyfish skin."
"It's on the top layer, on the left."
Is this it?
"right."
"It's good that it's this one. I was really worried that I had mistakenly taken white alkali."
Watching Feng Ye prepare the alum water and pour it into the large vat, Ye Qingling asked curiously, "Is that all?"
"This is just the first step. There are two more steps to follow, which can be simply called 'three alum and two salts.' If you want to eat jellyfish head and jellyfish skin, you'll have to wait half a month."
"This is so troublesome!"
Ye Qingling was surprised.
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