Dried Seahorse (Hai Ma)
スープの中にタツノオトシゴ！？男のスタミナを爆上げする海の漢方
Description
The very 'Seahorse' swimming in aquariums, gutted and sun-dried. A highly expensive, maniac dry good in Chinese medicine/herbalism said to 'warm the kidneys and have intense stamina-boosting (aphrodisiac) effects'. Not eaten directly, but braised long-term in soup with pork to extract essence.
Classification: Hardcore, Ingredient, Dry Goods, Hai Ma, Seahorse, Medicinal, For Soup, Nourishing, Traditional Medicine
Shops selling Dried Seahorse (Hai Ma)
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The How to use section below is a general reference, not instructions from the listed shops.
How to use
Ingredients
- Seahorse(Dried)
Instructions
- [Typical Uses]
- [Hai Ma Dun Shou Rou Tang (Seahorse & Lean Pork Medicinal Soup)]: Dry-roast the seahorse briefly in a pan to erase fishiness, then simmer for hours in a claypot with lean pork, goji, jujubes, and ginseng. The ultimate stamina medicinal soup given to tired men or people with cold extremities.
- Soak in Baijiu to make 'Hai Ma Jiu' (Medicinal liquor).
Learn more Substitutes, pairings, tips
Key spices
The seahorse itself is a hard bone mass and not eaten. Melts a slight ocean aroma and unique animal depth into the soup
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Irreplaceable. Push comes to shove, tonics like softshell turtle extract)
Pairing
Lean Pork / Ginseng / Goji Berries
Trivia
The biggest prep trick is 'lightly dry-roasting in a pan without oil'. Skipping this makes the soup intensely fishy. The seahorse after braising is just broth dregs, so discard without eating.
Eating tips & etiquette
A popular JP aquarium creature is sold dried and bagged for thousands to tens of thousands of yen in Chinese supermarkets. Because males nurture female eggs in their bellies—a unique ecology—they are prized as a 'symbol of vitality'.
Allergen
None