Red and White Jellyfish – A Delicacy of Gold and Jade

Red and White Jellyfish – A Delicacy of Gold and Jade

　　Jellyfish is a beloved seafood among the people of Putian. Its processed products are not only a delicious home-cooked dish but also a refined cold appetizer or wine accompaniment at banquets.

The coastal areas of Putian are rich in jellyfish, a type of jellyfish-like creature that drifts in the sea. The body of a jellyfish can generally be divided into an umbrella part and a head part. Jellyfish is also written as “海宅” (hǎi zhái), and the people of Putian call its processed product “桌” (zhuō, where the local dialect pronounces “餐” as “tī guò qiē”). The umbrella part of the jellyfish resembles a steel helmet and can be processed into whole round sheets of jellyfish skin, which are white in color—referred to by locals as “white meal.” The head part, after processing, becomes the jellyfish head, which is red in color and called “red meal” by locals. Both white meal and red meal are seafood products made by pickling and dehydrating with alum and salt, with white meal being relatively more affordable.

It’s very convenient to eat both the white and red jellyfish in Putian. Simply soak them in cold boiled water, rinse off the brine, then cut them into thin strips to be served with soy sauce mixed with vinegar. They are crispy and delicious, making them a staple dish in many households. If the sliced jellyfish is further marinated with sugar, garlic, and other seasonings in soy sauce, it can be used as a cold appetizer or side dish at banquets. People enjoy this dish between bites of other foods at banquets—it adjusts the flavors, stimulates the appetite, and can be enjoyed with wine at any time. As a result, it has become a common dish at various banquets in Putian, highly favored by many.

Interestingly, while the jellyfish itself is crisp and delicious, the soaking brine is salty and astringent. If not rinsed thoroughly before eating, the flavor of the jellyfish is greatly affected. Yet, the jellyfish, when processed into its final edible form, would be dry and hard without the brine soak. This illustrates the duality of things—they are mutually contradictory yet interdependent. The relationship between the jellyfish and its brine perfectly exemplifies this. In the local Putian vernacular, the word for “salty and astringent” sounds the same as the word for “stingy.” Since the brine is both salty and astringent, the term “卤卤” (lǔ lǔ) has come to be used by the people of Putian to mock those who are stingy or miserly. People love the jellyfish (“卤”), but they dislike the brine (“卤卤”). The duality of things is vividly reflected in this folk expression.

Jellyfish is not as expensive as high-end seafood such as sea cucumber or abalone, so it is affordable for ordinary families and can be consumed regularly. However, it is puzzling that residents along the coast of Putian, even those fishermen who catch jellyfish year-round, process the jellyfish into finished products and sell them all to urban areas and market towns on the Putian Plain, rarely consuming it themselves. This creates a strange contrast. The reason lies in the fact that before the Ming Dynasty, the coastal areas thrived economically through maritime trade, sea salt, and seafood, surpassing the inland plains. However, starting from the Qing Dynasty, in order to prevent Zheng Chenggong’s anti-Qing resistance, the coastal regions were subjected to forced “coastal relocation,” leading to a sharp decline in the local economy and culture. Although the coastal boundaries were later restored, residents could only rely on dried sweet potatoes as their staple food, living in great poverty. They couldn’t even afford to eat their own agricultural and seafood products, selling everything as commodities—even relatively inexpensive jellyfish did not make it to their own dining tables. Even though 300 years have passed and the living standards of coastal residents have greatly improved, they still maintain this frugal habit.