Haizhou Bay Seafood 海州湾海鲜

Haizhou Bay Seafood (海州湾海鲜) covers the fish, shrimp, crab and shellfish associated with Lianyungang (连云港) and its bay. Local cooking places particular emphasis on the seafood’s own flavour, often using simple boiling or brief blanching. Swimming crabs, prawns and mantis shrimps are among the city’s characteristic seafood ingredients.

A warm octopus dish

In an interview with Lianyungang’s newspaper, restaurateur Li Zhengyong (李正勇) of Haimingwei (海名威) describes a warm octopus dish. The octopus spends about 20 seconds in boiling water before scallion, ginger, garlic, mustard, soy sauce and vinegar are added. He favours straightforward preparations that preserve the seafood’s flavour.

Fish dishes at the table

Shaguang fish (沙光鱼) is another local ingredient, prepared in clear soup or red-braised. Li’s restaurant serves it in a milky broth and also fries the dried fish. Salted leyu fish (勒鱼) accompanies flatbread in another of the restaurant’s dishes. These sit alongside a wider local seafood range that includes oysters, cuttlefish and scallops.