Huangsha sandworms (China Daily/Pauline D. Loh) |
"These are legal. They are raised on government-approved farms and they are not toxic," Huang assures me. In fact, the chef says, they are a popular dish in his restaurant, where they are cooked whole, with shredded white radish.
If a swimming fish fetches just 50 to 100 yuan ($8-16) per kg, one shop does about a ton of business each day and there are close to 100 shops here selling fish. You work out the mathematics.
We move on to the area nearest the water and this is where the shellfish rule. Again, it is an open-mouth experience. There are the familiar cockles, clam and razor clams, but there are also sea snails, whelks and conches that I have never seen before.
The cockles alone range from nut-sized shells that are simply quickly blanched and eaten dripping with red juices to huge monsters as large as my fist.
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