Flounder is known as a precious fish, rich in nutrients, the whole body is a “treasure” that is very good for children’s brains and comes with an extremely expensive price. In this article, we will learn about this fish!
What is Flounder?
Flounder, also known as buffalo tongue fish, Flounder, is a species of fish belonging to the Heterosomata order. The family of flatfish has 3 genera and currently has over 100 species, feeding on small crustaceans and invertebrates. They are a rare and hard-to-find fish, often distributed in tropical and subtropical seas, living mainly on the seabed, some living in freshwater. Currently, Flounder on the market is concentrated in Jeju Island, Korea with about 65% of total production, exported to 15 countries, including Vietnam.
Characteristics and shape of Flounder
Flounder has a large face, a flat body with a long tongue, and is quite large, averaging 20-30cm. The outstanding feature of Flounder is that the eyes are on the top, on the left side, and do not follow the rules of symmetry, are very narrow and have fins, when looking at them they look quite cold. The upper skin of Flounder is often dark brown like mud, the lower skin is a glowing white. When underwater, the color of Flounder can change continuously to easily camouflage to avoid enemies or support the hunting process.
Popular Flounder species today
Flounder has more than 100 species with many small branches. However, only species with delicious taste, sweet meat, and few bones are popular. Below are the Flounder species that are commonly used in the market.
Yellow Flounders are mainly found in Japan and Korea, living on the seabed, they have prominent yellow skin. Because they are a nutritious fish, fishermen often fish for them instead of netting them like many other species. Especially when catching them, fishermen will limit the impact on the fish, leaving them alone in the tank.
Horse tongue Flounder belongs to the genus Hippoglossus and Reinhardtius, they live mainly in cold water, 10-100m deep. This species is very large, the record horse tongue Flounder found in the Atlantic can weigh up to 189kg.
Norwegian Flounder
Norwegian Flounder lives at depths of 200m or less, with temperatures of -4 degrees Celsius. Their appearance is not much different from other Flounder species. Found in Norway, Greenland and Eastern Canada.
Nutritional value of Flounder
Flounder is considered an extremely nutritious fish, ranked as a “giant”, the whole body is considered a “treasure”. Specifically, Flounder is a rich source of protein (150g of Flounder meat provides up to 35g of protein), vitamin D, B6, Niacin (B3) and minerals such as Potassium, Phosphorus, Omega-3, Selenium, … low saturated fat is very beneficial for health. Accordingly, the benefits of Flounder can be mentioned as follows:
– Helps balance cholesterol levels in the blood
– Improve blood circulation
– Good for cardiovascular health, prevents stroke, myocardial infarction, atherosclerosis, …
– Helps the body stay full longer, supports maintaining body shape, no need to worry about being overweight.
– Prevent osteoporosis, help develop muscles, bones and joints
Not only rich in nutrients, Flounder meat has a sweet, fatty taste, no small bones, so it is very popular, especially in Japan, they are often chosen by Japanese mothers to add to their children’s diet, the ingredients in Flounder are very good for the brain development of young children.
Super delicious dishes from Flounder
Flounder is processed into many delicious dishes in many ways such as fried, grilled, cooked in soup, steamed or cooked in porridge. Below are some delicious dishes from Flounder you can refer to.
Flounder Sashimi
Sashimi is the best way to enjoy the fresh taste of Flounder as well as help the body absorb the highest nutritional value from this nutritious fish. In Vietnam, in luxury restaurants, Korean yellow Flounder is mainly processed in the form of sashimi. Flounder meat is white, soft, and fatty, so it is very popular.
Steamed Flounder with Soy Sauce
In addition to Sashimi, steaming is the best way to preserve the nutritional value of Flounder. To make the fish delicious when steaming, you should use sliced ginger at the bottom with a little cooking wine. Steam or put the fish in the microwave for 6 minutes until the fish is cooked evenly. You can eat this dish with hot rice or roll it in rice paper, both are delicious.
Fried Flounder with Lemongrass and Chili
To fry Flounder, when you buy it, you need to remove the black skin on the outside, soak the fish in diluted salt water to remove the fishy smell. Then wash it, drain it, make many diagonal cuts on the fish body, marinate it with lemongrass, chili, and wine for 2 hours before frying the fish to absorb the flavor better. In addition to frying, you can braise Flounder with pepper, which is also very attractive to eat with hot rice, cook sour soup, make patties, salads, etc.
How much does Flounder cost per kilo? Where to buy it?
Because it is a rare fish and difficult to catch, the price of Flounder is extremely high. Currently, the price of Flounder ranges from 1.5-2 million VND/kg, the price will vary depending on the season and distribution location. Currently in Vietnam, Flounder is mainly imported from Korea, you can find Flounder at seafood stores or some large fish markets. During peak season, you will have to order in advance because of high demand.
How to choose delicious flounder
When buying flounder, you can refer to some of the following tips to distinguish fresh and delicious flounder. Based on the appearance, fresh flounder is often less slimy, has bright, shiny scales, is fresh, sticks tightly to the body, has no bad smell or is damaged. Observe the gills of the fish will be bright pink (instead of black, brown, …) the gills are tightly closed, has no unpleasant smell. In addition, when pressing your hand on the fish’s body, you will see that it has good elasticity, which means the fish is fresh. On the contrary, if the pressure is indented, you should not buy it.
So through this, you can see the reason why flounder has a high price. Hope the article is useful to you.