[Video/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Knife fish, also known as Coilia ectenes, or daoyu in Chinese, are considered a luxury delicacy for their extremely tender texture and fresh taste. They are commonly eaten in the spring.

There is a saying in Hai'an that knife fish are as precious as gold before the Qingming Festival, which falls on April 5 this year.

Captive-bred knife fish produced by Hai'an-based Jiangsu Zhongyang Group. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Knife fish, which are long, thin and silver, live in rivers, seas and lakes, and those from the Yangtze River are the most highly sought after because of their perceived superior quality.

But demand for the fish is not only exacting a high price on consumers, but on the species itself, putting its very existence at risk. Starting in 2019, fishing for knife fish in the river became illegal.

Since then, the Jiangsu Zhongyang Group in Hai'an, Nantong has started breeding knife fish by imitating their migration patterns. The captive-bred knife fish, which boasts the same delicious taste as those living in the Yangtze River, is already available on the market in Hai'an.

A plate of steamed knife fish. [Photo/WeChat account: hafbwx]

Steaming is the best way to bring out the flavor of the fish. It is relatively difficult to cook a dish of delicious steamed knife fish as the duration and degree of heating is difficult to master.

With such a tender texture, people can only pick a tiny bit of the fish meat with the tips of their chopsticks, which is enough to fill their mouth with the fish's moist aroma.