01x17 - Fish Ball and Wrapped Fish

[bunniefuu]

The smooth surface as delicate as skin

is the result of over 1,000 strikes
of constant pounding,

as if it were reborn after nirvana.

A common ingredient
is completely transformed

and given a new flavor.

CHAOSHAN

Shenquan Harbor,

located in Huilai County,
Shantou City, Guangdong Province,

faces the South China Sea on the west.

It is the largest natural harbor
in eastern Guangdong

and also the largest fish trade market
in the area.

Here, the day starts at three a.m.

Thirty-five-year-old Wenyuan Yang

is one of the earliest buyers to arrive.

He is picking specific ingredients
to make an heirloom delicacy.

This kind of fish is cheap
and looks unappealing,

yet it is Wenyuan Yang's premium choice.

- I want 15 kilos.
- How many?

- Fifteen kilograms.
- Okay.

I have 15 kilos here.
There are more over there.

There are 15 kilos over there.

This lizardfish
is scientifically known as Saurida tumbil.

Over 500,000 kilos are caught
along the Chaoshan coast every year.

The meat tastes sweet and tender
but comes with too many fish bones.

Chaoshan locals rarely
cook and consume lizardfish directly.

Instead, it is used for other purposes.

The designated three-month
no-fishing season has just ended.

Once the season opens,

thousands of fishing boats
gather in Shenquan Harbor.

For centuries, living on the sea
and off the bounty of the sea

has been signature
to a Chaoshan's way of life.

The final flavor depends upon time.

To get the tenderest flavors,

the dish must be made
within four hours of buying the fish.

Deboning is the critical key
in processing the lizardfish.

Wenyuan Yang has his own secret trick
when it comes to that.

He uses the back of the knife
to pound the fish surface

to fragmentize the fish meat

and loosen the fish bones.

He scrapes up and down
along the direction of the fish bones.

The fish bones gradually soften up
while the fish meat loosens and falls off.

After fish meat
is completely separated from fish bones,

it becomes surimi.

It takes only 30 seconds
for Wenyuan Yang to process a fish.

Scraping up and down hundreds of times

requires a balance
between wrist action and speed.

Due to the widespread use
of mechanical operations,

makers like Wenyuan Yang
who make traditional handmade products

are now extremely scarce.

Now, he is only one step away
from completing this flavor.

After it is pounded thousands of times,

the surimi keeps contracting.

After the surface fiber coagulates,
it forms into a large amount of gelatin.

While pounding,
you must distribute force evenly

with a steady tempo.

To Wenyuan Yang's wife Shuqi Huang,

it is a challenge
of both physical strength and stamina.

After half an hour,

the surimi has transformed,
becoming firm and tight,

smooth and elastic in texture.

The best consistency is when the surimi
becomes clingy without dripping.

SURIMI

With no time to lose,

the whole family pitches in
to squeeze the surimi into fish ba*ls.

To set the shape, they are placed
in 40-to 60-degree warm water.

The Yang family fish ball
is very popular with locals,

but it is time- and energy-consuming
to make by hand.

The daily production
is roughly only 50 kilos.

For the convenience of cooking,

making ground meat into meatballs
has a long history in China.

This craft has been preserved
in Chaoshan to this day,

and has also derived
various new types of dishes.

The white and tender lizardfish meat

gives fish ba*ls their glossy white color.

Chopped green onions
are added to rid rotten fish smells.

The richness of the fish
infuses into the fresh soup,

bursting with rich aromas
and leaving profound aftertastes.

CHAOSHAN FISH BALL SOUP

Authentic Chaoshan fish ba*ls
are made purely of sea fish.

Endless pounding and mixing

completely transform
the original meat texture,

imparting the unique
smooth and elastic taste to fish ba*ls.

Chaoshan is bountiful with seafood.

Various fishes are processed
into a vast variety of products.

FISH NOODLES

FISH TOFU

JINSHA ROAD, SHANTOU CITY

Jinsha, Shantou,
is 80 kilometers away from Huilai.

A large number of fish ponds
were once here.

A favorite delicacy of Shantou locals
was born right here.

Born and bred in Jinsha,

Hongyi Hu has been running
a local restaurant for over 30 years.

Today,

he will make this dish in his restaurant
for the last time.

According to tradition,

freshwater fishes from local ponds
are the only ingredient.

In recent years,
in the wake of rapid urban development,

what was originally Jinsha Village
has become part of the city.

A lot of ponds are being demolished,

and a culinary craftsmanship
is in danger of being lost.

He tosses the surimi hard.

The force from the fall is much larger
than that from pounding.

The myoglobulins in fish meat
are stretched out into fiber shapes,

forming a gelatinous texture,

becoming sticky and elastic.

He scrapes it up gently with the blade

in one whole motion.

The scraped-up surimi forms a wavy shape,

resembling leaves.

Shantou locals call this wrapped fish.

It is an exclusive local delicacy.

WRAPPED FISH

In the hands of Hongyi Hu,

wrapped fish can be cooked in many ways.

Chili, shiitake,
winter bamboo sh**t, and celery

are cleverly combined with wrapped fish.

Wrapped around ingredients,
it resembles the shape of a pen cap,

therefore called pen cap wrapped fish.

PEN CAP WRAPPED FISH

Boiled in water,

the surimi fibers
are infused with those four flavors.
The fresh vegetables are wrapped
inside the tenderness of the fish,

creating rich and intricate flavors

while retaining
the original umami of the fish.

WRAPPED FISH SOUP

For today's gathering,

Hongyi Hu has prepared
another wrapped fish inspired delicacy.

The heated oil

instantly turns the egg and flour mixture
outside the wrapped fish crispy.

Simply stir-frying it
makes it crispy outside and tender inside

with an elastic texture.

The meat is delicate, fresh, and bouncy.

JINSHA WRAPPED FISH

Hongyi Hu has worked here for 30 years.

According to urban development planning,
this pond will be transformed into a park.

He is closing his restaurant soon.

Hongyi Hu also plans to leave Shantou
and make a living elsewhere.

After living in Jinsha for so long,

naturally,
I am emotionally attached to this pond.

So right now, the government
wants to turn this pond into a park.

I'm leaving this place,
but wherever I go,

I will continue to make
the same Jinsha wrapped fish.

From a fish ball
to a piece of wrapped fish,

the flavors derived from surimi

have never stopped becoming richer
in the hands of Chaoshan locals.

The delicate and authentic flavors

are the legacies passed down
by these craftsmen

who ensure the local cuisine
continues to live on.

CHAOSHAN