How to stew Penghu dried octopus pork rib soup so it is both delicious and nutritious

In summer and autumn, after the tide recedes, across the vast intertidal zone, women in twos and threes seem to wander casually, yet all the while they open eyes sharpened by wind and frost. In what looks like a boundless desert, they search for their prey. (Shiju, a kind of bottom-dwelling octopus.) When the catch is plentiful, each woman can catch more than ten jin of octopus. Add to that those caught by diving and those lured by fake bait. Loads of octopus, in the early days before refrigerators, could only be preserved in the most primitive way: sun-dried.

The sun-drying process. With nimble hands, the women clean out the innards from the octopus head in one go. That is the first step completed. The second step is to split the octopus head open from the middle. The ball-shaped head is opened into a round flat shape, and the prep work is done. Next comes the sun-drying step. What looks like a simple job requires the octopus legs to be arranged into a shape like upturned handlebar mustaches. Then they are laid out in order on the drying net. They undergo the sublimation of wind and sunlight. After being turned over repeatedly, over several days, the ruby-like reddish-brown dried shiju becomes an indispensable ingredient for the people of Penghu when entertaining guests or cooking everyday meals.