Mrs. Lam's 20-Year Fish Maw: An Expert Teaches You How to Assess Quality
Along the Sai Kung waterfront, there's a row of old shophouses (tong lau). Mrs. Lam has lived here for over forty years. She's seventy-three this year, with white hair but a sharp mind, and reliably goes downstairs for dim sum at 6 AM every day, still walking steadily. The neighbours all know that Mrs. Lam and her late husband used to run a dried seafood business together, and she knows everything there is to know about fish maw, abalone, and sea cucumber.
The Dried Seafood Shop Owner's Collection
Mrs. Lam's husband, Mr. Lam, ran a dried seafood shop in Sheung Wan for thirty years, specializing in wholesale, with restaurants and exporters as his main clients. When Mr. Lam was alive, whenever he got a particularly good batch of goods, he would always select a few of the best pieces to keep for himself. "Good stuff must be kept by oneself first. Customers can be good or bad, but you have to personally ensure the quality." This was Mr. Lam's old rule.
After Mr. Lam passed away five years ago, the dried seafood shop was handed over to his nephew. But the batch of fish maw that Mr. Lam privately collected has always been stored at their home in Sai Kung. Mrs. Lam checks on it every few months to ensure the storage conditions are still good.
"These fish maw, the oldest batch was acquired over twenty years ago," Mrs. Lam said, opening a storage cabinet. Inside, several sealed glass jars and tin cans were neatly arranged, each with a label indicating the type, weight, and date of acquisition.
The Finer Points of White Flower Fish Maw
Mrs. Lam's collection mainly consists of white flower fish maw, which is made from the swim bladder of the yellow croaker. Among all types of fish maw, white flower fish maw is recognized as one of the highest quality, because the number of yellow croaker is decreasing, and wild ones are even rarer, so the value of old white flower fish maw increases with time.
"Fish maw is a bit like red wine; it needs time to age," Mrs. Lam explained while demonstrating. "Fresh fish maw has a strong fishy smell and a rather tough texture. But with time, the fishy smell gradually fades, and the collagen becomes more delicate. Look at this piece; it's twenty years old, its color has turned amber, it's translucent yet lustrous. This is the mark of a good piece."
She held a piece of fish maw up to the window light, showing its color to the reporter. Indeed, that piece of fish maw displayed a deep golden amber color, with a smooth surface and a slightly oily sheen, and a complete shape without cracks.
The Art of Storage
When asked about storage methods, Mrs. Lam opened up. This was her most familiar area, and she explained every detail clearly.
