Blood Spot Grouper (Epinephelus akaara) (Part 2): Red Spot Grouper – China’s Most Expensive Grouper!
Blood Spot Grouper (Epinephelus akaara)
Blood Spot scientific name: Red Spot Grouper Epinephelus akaara is undoubtedly the most well-known and expensive grouper in our country! A standard specification (over one kilogram) of wild Blood Spot is close to RMB 1,000 per piece, while larger ones can reach several thousand yuan! Moreover, this fish and the previous article's Azure Grouper are only distributed in China, Japan, and Korea.
Left is Wild Blood Spot, Right is Cultured Blood Spot
As such a high-end variety, domestic production exists, of course, there's also a lot of wild capture (with escaped farmed fish). The price of cultivation will be more than half lower (with many deaths in the farm). Wild fish alive and fresh (not dead in water) is almost a scarce item!
Wild Blood Spot Live Fish Close-up
However, there are many other grouper species that look like Blood Spot in the market (will be introduced later). Unscrupulous merchants often pretend to sell at a high price! The most distinctive and least noticeable feature of Blood Spot under stress conditions is a clear large black spot on the back.
Blood Spot Sashimi
Although called Blood Spot, it is not actually red (other red grouper is often mistaken for Blood Spot). The entire fish is only occasionally pink at the bottom, most of the time it is orange-yellow, and can also be golden. Therefore, in Japan, Blood Spot is also called Golden Grouper.
Steamed Blood Spot
And our country, the best destination for a good fish is steaming, but the up attempted several times and found that Blood Spot big fish flavor is very concentrated, but the meat is slightly not as slippery (qiu tan, firm), so it is generally recommended to buy whole and steam unless invited.
Blood Spot Clear Soup
Like Azure Grouper, the up's recommendation is still to eat two pieces, cut the fish meat and steam it, cook the head bone and belly with clear soup. Of course, this is the way the wealthy eat at home. Moreover, here we remind everyone that Blood Spot is an endangered species and we hope everyone has a protective awareness to control fishing (especially young fish, please return them to nature). Because it is an endangered species, it leads to scarcity, which is also due to the influence of the superstitious behavior of the people of Fujian Province (because the fish's pattern looks like a lucky cloud). So it is generally not recommended for ordinary families to eat!
Rarity: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Price: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Taste: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Recommendation: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
