Beimen District in Tainan City is a remote rural area. But determined folks have long sought to make a living here in the saline wetlands of the old Daofeng Lagoon by raising the “three treasures” of Beimen: milkfish, tilapia, and clams.
Among Beimen’s many temples, the clan-based Fa’an Temple at Sanliaowan has been quietly watching over the Huang family’s aquaculture business for four generations.
Great-grandfather Huang Lu got the ball rolling. His son Huang Bitian began to invest in seafood processing, and gained Traceable Agricultural Products certification. Then Huang Bitian’s son Huang Guoliang took over, and in only 13 years has established the Apollo Aquatic Product company and won a Haiyan Premium Seafood Award, a Top Ten Most Appealing Products listing, a Traceable Agricultural Products Master title, and a Shennong Award as one of Taiwan’s top farmers. Finally, in the fourth generation, Huang Guoliang’s niece Xie Jiaxin, together with her mother Huang Yunqing (Huang Guoliang’s sister) operates a restaurant called Chang Ying Seafood House that is not only certified by Tian Mama, but has been one of Michelin’s Bib Gourmand recommended eateries for four straight years since 2022.
Raising delicious fish
In Beimen, pretty much every household engages in aquaculture, so in this regard there is nothing unusual about the Huangs. Huang Guoliang, who left home at 13, was considered an “aquaculture deserter” until serious illness forced him to quit his job in the tech industry and return home. However, precisely because he had no preconceived notions, this ambitious figure emphasized quality and food safety. “Everybody wanted to raise fish, but I wanted to raise delicious fish.”
Earnestly seeking solutions to ensure that his fish are tasty, he insisted on using only seawater in his ponds, forcing the fish to deal with the osmotic pressure of salt water. Although they grow more slowly than in fresh water, the texture and flavor are better. He also reduced fish density in his ponds to one-tenth the traditional level and adopted a cycle in each pond of raising fish for six months and letting the pond rest for six months. At the same time, he developed his own polyculture method to imitate the natural ecosystem, and harvests his fish with gillnets.
Though production costs are high, Huang Guoliang uses wind and solar power as well as energy-efficient wave-making aerators, reducing electricity bills by 90%.
Because of his high standards, his fish farm has been able to win not only Traceable Agricultural Products certification but also rigorous European Union certification. The operation is energy self-sufficient, being not only “net-zero” but even “carbon-negative,” and thus earning a 2024 National Sustainable Development Award.
Minimum food miles
Nowadays Huang Guoliang’s premium seafood products can be eaten right nearby, at Chang Ying Seafood House. This small restaurant was originally founded by his father, Huang Bitian, to serve retail consumers, but today is run by Huang Guoliang’s sister Huang Yunqing and her daughter Xie Jiaxin. Long before winning its Michelin Bib Gourmand recommendation, it had many regular customers from far and wide and was a trusted local eatery.
Xie Jiaxin, who can always be found doing the cooking with her mom, explains the farm’s approach to fish quality. Freshly harvested and processed fish are placed in a −50℃ cold chain storage facility to avoid the formation of ice crystals. For fish intended for raw consumption, they use the laborious ikejime method (paralyzing and bleeding) to maintain the fresh, sweet taste of the meat. Alternatively, fish are processed using a low-temperature dry aging technique that removes moisture from the oil on the surface, preventing oil splatters during pan-frying. Moreover, fishbones are turned into valuable fish essence, while fish heads, scales, and intestines, which most people discard, are processed into liquid fertilizer to avoid waste, thereby achieving the goal of “using the entire fish.”
