Hairtail does not need to be scaled. A layer of silver and white material on the surface of hairtail is often mistaken for hairtail scales. It is said that it is a very smelly thing, so it is always washed off by all means before cooking. In fact, the silver substance is not fish scales, but a kind of fat without fishy smell, which has certain nutritional value. It contains unsaturated fatty acids, lecithin and 6- thioguanine. The silver scales of hairtail can also play a role in making hairtail not easy to break when cooking.

Therefore, when washing hairtail, don't "scale". Silver scales are afraid of heat and will melt in water at 75℃, so the water temperature should not be too high when cleaning hairtail, and the surface of the fish should not be scraped excessively to prevent the loss of silver grease. However, this silvery white fat is easy to be oxidized and turned yellow after being exposed to the air for a long time, and it has a certain "spicy taste". When this happens, it is "scaling" when washing.