A wild delicacy underground that looks like bamboo, it can only be caught with salt water. Have you ever eaten it?

The sea has always been a place humans rely on for survival. People often say: "Live off the mountain if you live by the mountain, live off the sea if you live by the sea." It is precisely because of the rise of seafood that maritime civilization came to be. Among the many kinds of seafood, there is a wild delicacy that hides underground and cannot be caught with nets; instead, it has to be fished with chopsticks. Doesn't that seem strange to everyone? So what exactly is it? Take a guess.

It is the razor clam (cheng), and because its shell looks like a bamboo tube, it is called zhu cheng, or "bamboo razor clam".

The surface of the razor clam is very smooth, usually yellowish-brown. Its shell is very brittle and thin, so you must be careful when grabbing it and absolutely must not harm it, otherwise its deliciousness is ruined.

When I was little, Grandpa often took me to the seaside to fish for razor clams. Back then Grandpa was a locally famous razor clam fishing expert; as long as he made a move, there was no razor clam he could not catch. Razor clams cannot be caught with ordinary methods; you have to use salt water to catch them. As long as you sprinkle a bit of salt, the razor clam comes out on its own, and it is very easy to catch.

It is just that now that I have left my hometown, I never get another chance to fish for razor clams. And according to Grandpa, wild razor clams are getting harder and harder to find now.

The nutritional value of wild razor clams is higher than that of farmed ones, and the taste is better too. So they are very popular on the market, and sometimes that saying really comes true: "People fear fame, pigs fear fatness." It is precisely because razor clams are too famous on the market that they now have nowhere to hide.

No matter where they hide, clever humans will find them, and then they become a delicacy on people's dining tables.

When it comes to this delicacy, the razor clam, I think I, the editor, am the most qualified to speak, because I grew up eating razor clams since childhood.

My favorite is the razor clams my grandma makes. Actually, the method is really simple: just wash the razor clams clean and put them in a bowl, add our local aged wine, add some salt and ginger, and finally put them in a steamer and steam them until cooked. It really is very simple, but the steamed razor clams are truly fresh and tender in texture, and the juices are very clear and sweet.

Perhaps this is the taste of home. Now that I work away from home, I often think of the taste of home, and it truly makes me sad.

Besides being a delicacy on the dining table, the razor clam is also a famous medicinal ingredient. According to the experience of our hometown, razor clams have excellent effects for reducing inflammation and clearing heat and detoxifying, and locally we also use them to support confinement, that is, they have a very good nourishing effect for women after childbirth.

I wonder if any of you have eaten razor clams. If you have, do you know what ways there are to prepare them?

Everyone is welcome to leave a comment below. For those netizens who have never eaten them, remember that you must give them a try!