Come to Laoshan Mountain to catch the sea in winter

On the twentieth day of the twelfth lunar month, the wind is sunny and the outdoor temperature is 5 degrees above zero.

The tide receded, exposing the bare rocks. This is Liu Qing Bay in Laoshan District, Qingdao, a national 5A-level tourist attraction-Laoshan Abalone Island.

Here we are, a group of people who have forgotten their age and worldly noise are searching through the cracks covered with oyster shells, and a snow-white Pomei puppy named Darling is jumping among the messy rocks.

It takes knowledge to catch the sea. Fortunately, I met a fisherman who was also catching the sea, and naturally she became our teacher.

Let's start with sea urchins. At first, I deliberately looked and looked, but I couldn't find any. However, when the famous teacher pointed it out, I found that they were shadowy and hidden under the cracks in the stone. If you don't pay attention, you can't find them at all. Open the nearby stones, maybe three or five nests, just like cactus, but slightly flat like pumpkin. They are attached to the rock and separated by a slight pry with a small stick. Of course, you should pay attention to the fact that it stings all over your hand.

The reef is covered with clusters of green sea cabbage, so many that we can't finish picking them. Occasionally, there will be a bunch of brown kelp, just pull a piece and put it in your mouth. It is the freshest kelp, which is much more delicious than the dried kelp bought in the store. It is one of the prey and will be collected by us.

As for the sea rainbow, it is also called mussel, just like we northerners call it shiny black clam. They are large and small, not adsorbed on rocks, but bound together by secretions, tangled into a ball, and even bound the pebbles below, thus forming a huge sea rainbow group. I think this must be the result of nature's elimination and selection. Only in this way can they not be washed around by the sea.

Some small conchs smaller than little finger are called small pineapples by local people. They are sucked on the rocks by suction cups. Drag them gently and hold them in your hand, and you can see the meat inside.

From a distance, the glistening bird droppings scattered on the rocks are oysters, also known as oysters. We don't have sharp instruments, so we can't clean them completely. We can only smash the shell on it with stones and pick up the meat inside and eat it directly in our mouths. It's delicious!

I caught three starfish in two forms. I don't think it is edible. It is also possible to hang it for home decoration.

Abalone and sea cucumber are certainly precious. The fisherman's grandmother is experienced and has a unique vision. She only picked two abalones and a sea cucumber, while our whole team tried their best to pick only one abalone, which was very exciting.

We also found an unknown animal. We wanted to ask the fisherman's eldest sister-in-law, but we couldn't find it, so we had to let it go.

Actually, we didn't mean to catch the sea. When we walked to the seaside, we were empty-handed. We don't have boots, tools or even plastic bags. However, as we get closer and closer to the sea step by step, the distant mountains and offshore waters, magnificent scenery and the constantly discovered novel seafood arouse our great curiosity, so we have to temporarily find a woven bag on the beach to hold our victory fruits.

The tide began to rise, and the tide came step by step. We called and returned. Some shoes are wet and some hands are cut. Although we look embarrassed, the smile on our faces is real. Because in these two or three hours, we have forgotten all the noise in the world and are looking for it. In fact, it is equivalent to entering a state of meditation, which is a real peace of mind.

Postscript:

Learn to eat sea urchins

Among our achievements, the largest number is sea urchin. When we got home, a very realistic question was before us:

We have all eaten sea urchin and egg soup in restaurants, but can we eat all kinds of sea urchins? No poison? Is this sea urchin we collected edible? How big can sea urchins eat? How to eat? How to make it? Which part can I eat?

I asked the above questions in a series.

Everyone bowed their heads and began to check their mobile phones. Finally, they decided to steam four first and risk their lives to eat sea urchins!

When cooked, cut the upper part with scissors, and you can see a yellow-white paste similar to egg yolk, which can be eaten. It tastes salty and delicious. This is the reproductive system of sea urchin, or its seed. Part of it is black, red and dark, which is its digestive and excretory system. You'd better not eat it. As for the red soup inside, you can drink it, just as delicious. Moreover, we found that eating with water would be a bit bitter, and eating with steam would be better.

Sea urchin has only evolved to the stage of lower animals, and the digestive and excretory systems of reproductive system are its two main systems.

Speaking of which, I will probably make sea urchin egg custard:

Cut off the raw sea urchin, cover it and make it into a bowl, throw away all the inedible things inside, separate all the sea urchin seeds and mix them with raw eggs, add a little water, or add a little oil or other seasonings, please don't put salt, then clean the bowl-shaped sea urchin, pour in the stirred raw sea urchin egg soup, and steam over high fire 10 to 65438+.

Photography: T. Zhuosnia

Text: X. Nisewski