First of all, in order to ensure the delicious quality of mullet eggs, workers will first select mature female fish that are not full and have obvious graininess to the touch from the mullet caught in the deep sea, and then send them to a nearby processing factory by a special cold chain truck for the next egg collection process. Next, in order to avoid piercing the egg membrane on fish eggs and affecting the quality of fish eggs, experienced workers will be responsible for the first two steps of fish cutting. First, the front-line workers will make an incision of three to four centimeters in the belly of the fish, and then the next batch of workers will be responsible for removing the ovaries without fish eggs, so that the workers responsible for collecting fish eggs can take out huge and fat mullet eggs from the fish cavity, and these mullet eggs will be frozen and sold to nearby food stalls or restaurants at a lower price.
Second, what we need to do now is a very time-consuming cleaning process. Because the fat and broken fine lines attached to the surface of fish eggs will be oxidized by blood vessels, the taste and color of fish eggs will be affected. Workers should first scrape them clean with a spoon, then put them back into the soft film, tie the soft film mouth with cotton thread, and finally wrap a layer of salt on the surface of fish eggs after cleaning them with salt water, and then spread them evenly on the board. In this process, workers will try to put the fish-free eggs with the same size on the same board, so that in the next curing cycle, each layer of mullet eggs can absorb salt and squeeze out excess water under uniform stress.
Third, after about six hours, the pickled mullet roe needs to be delayed with clear water, and then it should be placed outdoors for one day. However, the egg membrane of a few mullet eggs will crack because of too fast drying, so workers will prepare some chicken intestines or duck intestines in advance for repair. Next, the once-shaped mullet roe is dried in the shade, and the same method is used to repeatedly dry the mullet roe on the board covered with cotton gauze for five to seven days, until the mullet roe is completely dried and the surface becomes shiny and translucent, and it can be eaten directly with charcoal or with various fruits.