Conch is a common name of a number of different medium-to-large-sized sea snails and are valued for seafood. In terms of dried conch, usually the big ones are used, many dried conch products are in sliced form, called dried conch slices.
Types
Xiang Luo
The most famous one is called Whelk, a generic name for species that has a swirling conical tail as part of the shell. The shape of the shell, after the meat is taken out, can produce loud sounds by blowing to it, therefore in Chinese it is called "Xiang Luo", "Xiang" means loud which refers to the sound made, and "luo" means sea snail.
They are produced in the United States, Australia, Thailand, and Africa, with the United States and Australia being the best.
For large sized "Xiang Luo", it is usually slices and dried. It retains most of the nutritional value of the conch, called dried "Xiang Luo" slice, it can be used to make soup or stir-fry, and have high nutritional value nutrition. For smaller size ones, they are not cut into pieces but using the whole meat, while it can also be dried and produce dried "Xiang Luo head" or simply just dried conch.
The texture of the "Xiang Luo head" is harder, the taste is more fragrant, and it is more nourishing, while the texture of the larger "Xiang Luo" slices is slimmer.
Other types
The average grades conches are also common in producing dried conch, for example special-grade dried conch slice, means some species other than "Xiang Luo" but in large size. There are also non-"Xiang Luo" medium sized species made into dried conch "head".
Cooking
Dehydration preparation
Dried conch, like other seafood, must be soaked overnight before cooking. The conch are soaked until soft and doubled in size.
Although most conchs are used for making soup, there are slight differences in processing between dried and fresh conchs, and fresh conchs are more suitable for stewing. However, because fresh conchs contain shells and seawater, they are naturally more expensive than dried ones.
Health benefits
In chinese medicine perspective, the Xiang Luo has the effect of nourishing vitality and is suitable for people with excessive "heat". It also has the effects of nourishing the skin and blood, strengthening the spleen and stomach, so it is most suitable to drink the Xiang Luo soup in autumn. Registered. People who stay up late are more suitable to drink the conch soup. There are currently more than 10 types of edible conchs.