What should you pay attention to when eating seafood in winter? First, eating seasonal seafood in winter is the healthiest way to keep us away from the harm that off-season seafood can bring. At the same time, there are also precautions and taboos for eating seafood in winter. Let me introduce them to you below.
Pan-Seared Tiger Prawns
What seafood is good to eat in winter
Winter Crab. In the cold winter, many seafood are no longer tasty. Even many fish and shrimp have entered their growth period. However, winter crabs are different. At this time, winter crabs are still very plump and delicious. The roe is very thick and sweet. Winter crabs must be steamed. Any other cooking method will not bring out the sweetness of the crab. In Zhoushan, eating winter crabs is very simple. They are usually steamed over water without any green onions, ginger, or garlic. After steaming for ten minutes, they are eaten directly without any dipping sauce. Zhoushan people value the freshness of seafood, and using dipping sauce would waste that freshness.
Tiger Prawns. Winter is the spawning season for tiger prawns. At this time, they are the most plump and nutritious. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that tiger prawns have the effects of tonifying the kidneys, strengthening yang, nourishing blood, and securing essence. Therefore, tiger prawns are most suitable for men's health.
Hairtail. Hairtail is extremely nutritious. Its protein content is twice that of pork, and it has a high absorption rate by the human body. The vitamin D, calcium, and phosphorus in the fish can effectively prevent osteoporosis. Regular consumption of hairtail can moisturize the skin and keep it moist and elastic. In addition, hairtail has a special layer of "scales" formed by a special fat on its body surface, which is rich in protein, iron, iodine and other nutrients, as well as more lecithin and various unsaturated fatty acids. It also contains a natural anti-cancer component: 6-thioguanine. It is very suitable for beauty-conscious women and patients with cardiovascular diseases.
Hard Clams. Also known as car shells, flower clams, yellow clams, and sea clams. Hard clams are mainly produced in coastal areas. They have high economic value, are rich in nutrition, and have delicious meat. They are also very valuable for medicinal food therapy. It is said that when Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty traveled south of the Yangtze River, he ate hard clams in Suzhou and named them "the most delicious under heaven." After buying hard clams, put them in fresh water with a little salt; do not raise them in fresh water. If you need to store them, you can put them in the refrigerator. However, it is best to buy and eat them fresh, buying only as much as you need at one time.
Sea Bass. Sea bass is very plump and delicious in winter. Not only is the meat as white as snow and the texture delicate, but it is also the most nutritious at this time. Therefore, winter is the best season to enjoy sea bass! Sea bass has the effects of strengthening the spleen and stomach, tonifying the liver and kidneys, and resolving phlegm and stopping cough. It is very beneficial for people with insufficient liver and kidney function. It can also treat symptoms such as weak spleen and stomach, indigestion, and edema.
So, what should you pay attention to when eating seafood in winter?
Precautions for eating seafood in winter
Eating seafood and fruit together can cause stomach pain. Fish, shrimp, crab and other seafood are rich in protein and calcium. Fruits contain more tannic acid. If you eat fruit right after seafood, it will not only affect the body's absorption of protein, but the calcium in the seafood will also combine with the tannic acid in the fruit to form insoluble calcium, which can irritate the gastrointestinal tract and even cause symptoms such as stomach pain, nausea, and vomiting. It is best to wait at least 2 hours after eating seafood before eating fruit.
Drinking tea after eating seafood can cause stones. The reason why it is not advisable to drink tea after eating seafood is similar to why it is not advisable to eat fruit. This is because tea also contains tannic acid, which can also combine with the calcium in seafood to form insoluble calcium. Drinking tea before or after eating seafood increases the chance of calcium and tannic acid combining. Therefore, it is best not to drink tea when eating seafood. Similarly, it is best to wait at least 2 hours.
Undercooked seafood contains bacteria. The main bacteria in seafood are Vibrio parahaemolyticus, which is relatively heat-resistant and can only be killed at temperatures above 80°C. In addition to bacteria from the water, seafood may also contain parasite eggs and contamination from bacteria and viruses from processing. Generally, it takes 4-5 minutes of boiling in water to completely kill the bacteria. Therefore, you must be cautious when eating uncooked seafood like "drunk crabs," "raw sea urchins," or "soy sauce-pickled seafood." When eating raw fish slices, you must also ensure the freshness and hygiene of the fish.
Iced fresh shrimp should not be blanched. Any seafood can only be made into dishes like steaming or blanching when it is highly fresh. Unlike meat, aquatic seafood carry many bacteria that are resistant to low temperatures, and their protein decomposes very quickly. If left in the refrigerator for a long time, the bacterial count in the shrimp increases, and the protein has partially denatured, producing amines. It can no longer achieve the texture, flavor, and safety of live shrimp, and is therefore not suitable for blanching. However, iced shrimp can be stir-fried or pan-fried at high temperatures, and can also be delicious.
Eating seafood with vitamin C can cause poisoning. Many seafood, such as shrimp, crab, clams, and oysters, contain the chemical element arsenic. Normally, the content is very small, but increasingly serious environmental pollution may cause the arsenic content in these animals to reach high levels. The arsenic in shrimp is pentavalent, which is generally harmless to the human body. Theoretically, a high dose of vitamin C (a single intake of over 500 mg) and pentavalent arsenic can undergo complex chemical reactions to form toxic trivalent arsenic (the "arsenic" we often talk about). When a certain dose of trivalent arsenic is reached, it can cause poisoning in the human body.
Who should not eat seafood
People with high blood lipids: Shellfish, clams, and crabs, especially crab roe, have very high cholesterol content. People with high cholesterol and blood lipids should pay attention to eating less or none of these seafood products.
Patients with arthritis and gout: Seafood such as sea cucumbers, sea fish, kelp, and sea vegetables contain more purines. Frequent consumption by patients will aggravate their condition.
Patients with bleeding disorders: Patients with bleeding disorders such as thrombocytopenia, hemophilia, and vitamin K deficiency should eat less or no sea fish, because the 20:5 n-3 fatty acid in fish can inhibit platelet aggregation, thus aggravating the bleeding symptoms of patients with bleeding disorders.
Patients with cirrhosis of the liver: When the liver is cirrhotic, the body has difficulty producing clotting factors, and with low platelet counts, it is prone to bleeding. If they also eat sardines, mackerel, tuna, etc., which are rich in 20:5 n-3 fatty acid, their condition will worsen dramatically, making a bad situation even worse.
Patients with skin diseases: The reason why patients with skin diseases cannot eat seafood is that the protein in seafood can act as an allergen in the human body, causing allergic reactions such as itching and hives, or causing the original skin disease to relapse or worsen. Therefore, dermatologists consider seafood as one of the causes of the disease and require some patients to avoid it.
When eating seafood healthily in winter, don't forget the points mentioned above.
Bacon garlic makes leaves