Why does hairtail smell like stinky tofu? Is hairtail smelling like stinky tofu bad? Can I still eat it?

We all know that hairtail is a common fish food. It is rich in protein, vitamins and trace elements. The meat is tender and delicious, and there are many ways to eat it. Many people often eat hairtail. When some people buy hairtail, they will find that the hairtail has a smell of stinky tofu. So does the smell of stinky tofu mean that the hairtail is bad? Let's take a closer look!

Hairtail fish smells like stinky tofu. Why is it that I can still eat it?

1. The hairtail you bought must have been frozen in the cold storage for too long, which is the so-called "zombie fish".

1. All large cold storages contain Freon, which produces a smell similar to "ammonia water". People who often go in and out of cold storages will smell this smell. Even new cold storages that do not contain Freon will have this smell. It is similar to the smell of "stinky tofu".

2. The hairtail you bought must have been piled at the bottom of the cold storage, commonly known as the "bottom of the storage". It has been frozen for an unknown period of time and has been corroded by the smell of the cold storage!

Another reason is improper cold storage management, where various items are mixed together, causing odor crosstalk. This is generally not common.

3. Illegal vendors add some preservatives to keep the fish fresh, or desiccants are added to the cold storage, which leaks into the hairtail you bought.

Second, eating this kind of hairtail fish is "disgusting". If you bought it through regular channels, you can return it with the shopping receipt. If you bought it from a roadside stall, you can only "learn from your mistakes"! Throw this fish away, it should not be eaten!

How to remove the fishy smell from hairtail fish

1. Dissection and removal of fishy smell

Remove the head and dorsal fin of the hairtail fish, then cut off the belly of the hairtail fish. After removing the membrane in the belly of the hairtail fish, you will see some black stuff inside. Remove it (this black stuff is the fishiest part of the hairtail fish).

2. Descaling

If the hairtail fish is relatively fresh, there is no need to remove the scales. If the hairtail fish you buy is not very fresh, removing the scales can also reduce the fishy smell of the hairtail fish.

3. Soak to remove the fishy smell

After cutting the hairtail into sections, put it in a bowl, add water to cover the hairtail, then add ginger, cooking wine, and vinegar, soak and clean it to remove the fishy smell.

Tips for buying hairtail

1: When choosing hairtail, you should choose hairtail with grayish white or silvery gray surface. If there is a layer of yellow substance on the surface of the hairtail, it proves that the hairtail has been stored for a long time and is not fresh.

2: When buying hairtail, check whether the belly is damaged or soft. If so, it means that it has been in a non-frozen environment for too long. It is not recommended to buy such hairtail (because the fish will rot first from the belly)

3: A good hairtail has a full and well-proportioned body, a complete shape, a hard and unbent body, and thick meat. If it is dark in color, has no luster, and has soft and shrunken meat, it is generally of poor quality.

Cleaning of hairtail fish

1. Use a knife to chop off the head of the frozen hairtail, remove the tail, and then remove the fins on the back of the hairtail.

2. Then use a knife to remove the belly skin of the hairtail fish and chop it into 10CM long pieces.

3. Put the hairtail pieces in a basin and rinse them with water to thaw them.

4. Take out the internal organs from the hairtail's belly and discard them, then clean the hairtail with water.