Fresh from the Ocean: Seafood the Hainan Way

Surrounded by opaline, tropical waters, China’s island province of Hainan has ready access to rich marine resources. Indeed, the people here have relied on the sea for sustenance and their livelihoods for generations, concocting a broad array of seafood dishes cooked in numerous ways in the process.

Steamed

On the west coast of Hainan in Dongfang’s Basuo Town, there is a special dish that is not well known to outsiders but is immensely popular among locals—Yuzong.

Those familiar with Chinese cuisine might recognize the word zong, which usually refers to stuffed dumplings made from glutinous rice. Yet, in Yuzong, rice is curiously absent. The dish is generally made from sea fish like crimson snapper, Japanese Spanish mackerel, and black pomfret. Fresh fish is bought at the market and then washed and dried. Then, sea salt is stuffed into its maw (belly), and a layer of salt is sprinkled on top before the fish is left to marinate for 3 days. To deepen the flavor, fresh salt is added after 3 days, and the fish marinates for another 5 days before being stored in the fridge.

When it comes time to eat the fish, it is taken out and washed. Shredded ginger is added, and then the fish is steamed, usually for around 15 minutes. The loose, tender, salty, and fragrant flesh of the fish is now ready to consume. Yuzong is often steamed with pork belly to enhance the flavor even further.

In rural Longlou Town in eastern Hainan's Wenchang City, there is another steamed delicacy waiting to be sampled - Mullet rice. Mullet is a kind of fish. It is said that the dish came about from the time when fisherfolk used iron pots to steam rice, placing a grate over the rice to steam the mullet. During the steaming process, the juices from the mullet flow down through the grate into the rice, giving the rice a rich, fishy aroma.

Dishes and condiments like Zaopocu (a sour, spicy soup dish made from vinegar produced from vinasse) and shrimp paste are among the many delicacies to hail from the coastal areas of Hainan, in addition to Yuzong and mullet rice. Humble in appearance and cooking method, these dishes have long been a part of the local gastronomic identity and collective culinary memory.

A seafood feast comprised of Tanka fish congee, shrimp cakes, and other dishes. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

Boiled

Dried river eel nets are a famous specialty of Changhua Town in Changjiang. Eels are woven together to form an eye-catching round 'net' and then dried, allowing the 'net' to retain its shape.

Changhua Town is a stone's throw away from Changhua Fishing Port, which sits on the estuary of the Changhua River. Whenever a fully loaded fishing boat docks at the pier and fishermen unload baskets of seafood onto the harborside, a flurry of customers will jostle to select the best produce. Thanks to its proximity to the fishing port, many people have opened restaurants and stores selling fresh and dried seafood along the alleys off Haifeng Street.

Xinhai Seafood Restaurant is one such restaurant. The owner, Wang Shaomei, is an old hand at preparing river eel. "River eel can be stewed, boiled, and fried, with pickled cabbage, pickled melon, or pickled mustard added to give it a richer taste. When fried, it can be made into a sweet and sour dish. Dried eel is used in soups such as pork rib or pig trotter soup, and it works really well in stewed pork belly, too.”

While their meat is savored, the eels contain something else even more precious—their swim bladders. Swim bladders are highly nutritious, and local families who can afford them will buy them for expectant mothers to consume.

On the east coast of Hainan, locals have a special place in their hearts for Japanese Spanish mackerel. This variety of mackerel has a long and narrow body with a blue-black head and back. Its flesh is delicious and contains very few bones. In Wenchang, Qionghai, and Wanning, locals often give each other mackerel during the Spring Festival.

Braised

While out at sea, fisherfolk are firing on all cylinders. Their heavy workload, combined with the limited cooking facilities on their boats, has meant that they have never been very particular about their food. As a result, the way they prepare their fish is rather spartan: they gather around a pot of boiling water, throw in fresh fish and shrimp, and take them out to eat once cooked. There is no seasoning, only the freshness of the catch itself. Sometimes, they parboil some rice and put a layer of shrimp on top before replacing the lid and cooking the rice through. This simple melange of rice and braised shrimp is then eaten as is, with no flourish or fanfare.

Penaeus prawns from Gangbei Port in Wanning, Hainan. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

Despite their busy lives and limited facilities, fisherfolk have still managed to create new dishes.

Gangmen Rice Noodles are named after Gangmen Village at the mouth of the Ningyuan River in Yazhou District, Sanya. Most of the villagers here make their living fishing out at sea. Various ingredients are added to this humble noodle dish, chief among them being shrimp and other seafood alongside a healthy serving of rice noodles.

Simple village fare like this has become increasingly popular across Hainan and beyond, including various kinds of seafood congee and seafood noodles served in soup, stir-fried, or braised. All these delicacies started out as basic dishes. As living standards and access to the outside world improved, the ingredients used in them became increasingly diverse, with peanuts, shredded squid, scallops, shrimps, eggs, and other garnishes being added.

Nowadays, these seafood snacks have become a regular breakfast treat for urban residents in Hainan, and many tourists visiting the island will go out of their way to find a quality restaurant to sample them.(By David Janke)