A table of seafood in Nantong. [Photo/WeChat account: ntwgx6]

The first rush of the autumn fishing season has passed, but the Yellow Sea's catch has settled into daily life in Nantong. What began as a chase for the season's first boats is now a routine purchase on the way home.

At morning wet markets, seafood stalls still draw crowds. Swimming crabs and shrimp are the top sellers, along with roe crabs, bamboo shrimp, small yellow croaker, pomfret and flatfish.

For many families, picking up a few pounds of crab or shrimp on the way home has become a habit. Kitchens across the city now carry the smell of the Yellow Sea.

Some prefer to keep things simple: steaming crabs belly-up with ginger and cooking wine, then dipping the meat in ginger-infused vinegar to taste the sea's natural sweetness. Others favor a quick stir-fry — crab pieces dusted with starch, seared until golden, then braised briefly with scallions, ginger and garlic for a thick, rich sauce.

There are also those who swear by raw marinated swimming crab, a local delicacy in which the crab is cleaned and cured in seasonings, yielding a smooth, briny bite. As for the shrimp, boiling in salted water is enough to preserve its springy sweetness.

These are not elaborate banquet dishes. Most often, they are part of an ordinary dinner — a plate of seafood among home-cooked dishes, with family gathered around, peeling crab and shelling shrimp, chatting about the day. The shells pile up at the edge of the table, and the aroma fills the room.

For Nantong residents, this is not fine dining. It is a seasonal pleasure woven into everyday life — the gentle arrival of autumn, tasted one meal at a time.