In daily life, people believe that live fish are highly nutritious and consider "eating live fish" a premium dish. In fact, this way of eating is unscientific. Why is that?
Live fish should not be cooked immediately.
After a fish dies, its muscles gradually stiffen over a period of time. In this stiffened state, the proteins in its muscle tissue have not broken down into amino acids, which are the main components of umami. Not only does the meat feel tough, but it is also not easily digested and absorbed by the human body. When the fish enters a highly stiffened state, it begins to transition into the autolysis stage. At this point, the fish's abundant proteins are gradually broken down by proteases into various amino acids that are easily absorbed by the human body. A fish at this stage will be incredibly delicious, no matter how it is cooked.