May 18, 2012

Seaweed Farming in Nanri Island (off Putien)

In recent years there has been a lot of media blitz promoting  seaweed as a miracle diet. Perhaps there is a lot of  truth in seaweed as a food which can provide good health. Look at the Japanese and Korean women who have been eating a lot of seaweed. Most of them are elegant and slim with good skin and good features.


My family has always liked seaweed soup for health reasons. Many years ago my mother had to eat seaweed soup twice a week to help her control her thyroid problems. She was unable to pay for any medical treatment in Singapore so she just had to make do with seaweed soup. And by God's grace she was cured. She did not have to go for any more treatment or even surgery . And as her children we were very worried about her health and the lump in her throat..but in the end every thing was fine thanks to  seaweed.

It was really admirable the way my mother would soak the seaweed in a tub and then later cut them into small pieces. We children would help her knot the pieces of seaweed and then put them into a pot to boil to get rid of the smell of the sea (sieng) and also the last bits of gritty sand. When boiled for a long time with some pork bones the soup was really excellent. We slowly grew to love the soup because it was something which would give our mother good health. And never mind the lousy greyish green looks.

Nanri Island today produces the best seaweed in the world. I was lucky tobe able to see the island's seaweed production first hand  together with friends from the island. It was a wonderful visit.
Pretty Assistant Pastor who showed us the width of the best seaweed.


This is the special boat which brings seaweed to the show. Very ingenious design.

A back breaking job under the sun. Owner and employee work together under the sun. In the misty  distance are more boats looking for seaweed and shrimps in the rich East China Sea.


This trip to Nanri Island only made more realise how important a clean sea is for us human beings. We have to keep our environment free from pollution. If the sea beaches are clean  seaweeds become more organic and more valueable. this is  how God has planned for us originally. Mankind must appreciate God's creation and keep our honour and value the earth more each day.

This was also the day we all had one fresh abalone each. We were given a big parcel of 22 abalones by a sister from a church. She was so friendly and helpful. And our leader  Meng Lei of  Chinese Methodist Message (Sibu) was made to eat THREE abalones because he worked the hardest.

If you have a chance to visit Putien or Xiamen...just spend one or two days touring Nanri Island and you can see how all the beautiful seafood  like abalone and sea cucumber are reared..And do buy some seaweed as gifts besides the abalone...


thanks to the Chow Hoo Church pastors and brothers and sisters for bringing us around. Our eyes were really opened!!

We should all appreciate seaweed soup even more from now on...

7 comments:

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

people LOL at me when my parents buy packets of mixed seaweed and cooked it sweet like green bean soup and eat it at 3 pm. My wise mum said it prevents pimples. How wise she was, I didn't suffer from teenaged pimples badly.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

I make a very good Thai style salad with Hai Dai (boil first to wash away the sand and then rinse..cool and add to Thai sauce with other veg)
9 minutes ago · Like
Ann Chin heheh, no wonder we ate "mouth fulls of sand" we didn't boil them first. and got scolded for not preparing them carefully. In Singapore, and now here in Auckland, they have thinnly strips like match sticks for salad. Once in a while I buy it to satisfy my pangs of nostalgia. Only I eat. That is why I got no teen aged acnes or pimples. LOL I look for my this year's photos.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

the packet that mum bought had a mixture of everything. I like the thin pinkish transparent ones. there were some brown ones like twigs. The green kelp, u chew and chew and chew. Of course, we didn't eat cakes and sweets. These were something better than nothing. Sweet Soup.

Ensurai said...

Ann
thanks for the tip...I will let my son and son in law know....

Ensurai said...

I just saw some of these thinly sliced strips of sea weed in Sibu market..and I asked the lady about them...she told me that "nowadays in Sibu people have learned to use sea weed in Salad!!New idea she said..and she asked me to try make some too..." so Sibu is catching up too...

Ensurai said...

Ann..do you know why many kids would not eat hai dai in those olden days? Because they came tied together like old cloth...

Looks really matter..and presentation too. Today many kids love seaweed soup in packets because of Korean cinematography influences!! Korean Wave includes dietary changes....hahahahahah

Anonymous said...

Sarawakiana - I found this blog when researching Nanri Dao. I couldn't understand the underwater recatangular shapes around the island that I was seeing from sattelite pictures. Now, I think I know--they are seaweed (kelp) beds. I enjoyed your journal very much, and will now try seaweed soup. Blessings.
Mike - USA

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