Marine Resource
Turtle Claw (Capitulum mitella)
What we mean "Turtle Claw" is not really turtle's claws, but a close relative of barnacle and its season is summer. It is shellfish resembling the shape of claws of a turtle, so Matsu locals call them turtle's claw. It seems that people can put a Chinese writing brush on. They are rare in Taiwan.
Though they look ugly, "turtle claws" are tasty!
Turtle claws are so delicious so people capture them so often.
Please do not capture small claws, to let them grow and breed.
Yellow Croaker
Yellow croaker used to be abundant catch in winter. It is rich in protein, calcium, phosphorous and iron, etc. It is full of nutrition and its meat is soft and easy to digest. Even today, it is still popular and famous among Matsu dishes. But its number decreases largely because of overfishing.
Yellow Croaker is a very rare species. They are difficult to capture.
Mussel
The season of mussel is summer and it is a kind of shellfish. It lives on reef in shallow sea. In Taiwan, Matsu is the only place where mussel lives. Sometimes it is easily confused with small abalone by people.
Mussels just captured.
Cooking mussels is very simple.
Barnacle
The season of barnacle is spring. It lives on reef near the coast. People cook it slightly after taking off by iron tools. It has a sweet taste so people called it "lobster for the poor."
Barnacles stick on rocks by the sea. People use some flat iron tools to knock them down.
You can see fresh mussels, turban shells and turtle claws in Matsu's markets.
Turban Shells
Turban shells can be captured throughout the year. The inside of their shells is very beautiful. People use their shells to make jewelry. Because of ocean pollution and people's massive capturing, turban shells are rarer and rarer.
Turban shells live in similar environment as turtle claws do.
Traditional turban capturing tool.
Laver
Laver is a special kind of seaweed. The season of laver is winter. Fresh seaweed is a great ingredient for seaweed salad which is a good appetizer. It is crunchy and tastes little bit sour and sweet, very delicious!
Xiju's has Matsu's best laver. The difficulty on capturing and its quality make the price of our laver very high.
Resource : Yamamoto Legion