As you may have noticed, dried starfish isn't commonly seen in daily life, as it's typically consumed as a medicinal ingredient with significant therapeutic value. However, it can also be prepared as a dish—though many are unsure how to cook it. Dried starfish inherently possesses calming properties and aids in regulating certain stomach ailments. Incorporating it into meals can benefit those with gastric issues. Below, we'll explore several preparation methods. Let's take a look.
How to Eat Dried Sea Stars?
Egg Custard Soup
1. Rinse the sea stars, steam them over boiling water for 15 minutes. Remove the roe and plate it (making it easier for family members to eat). Dilute white vinegar with green horseradish (the same used for sushi) to taste, then drizzle over the roe. This creates a refreshing, grease-cutting flavor.
2. Steam about 4 starfish, remove the roe, and beat it lightly. Whisk 2 eggs with about 1.5 eggs' worth of cold water—less water makes the custard less tender.Add a dash of sesame oil, salt, and MSG (optional, but recommended since broth will be added later). Steam over water. The heavier starfish roe will sink to the bottom of the egg custard, so monitor during steaming. Once the top layer sets, gently stir with a small spoon to redistribute the uncooked egg mixture to the surface. This ensures the starfish roe is evenly distributed throughout the custard. Steaming time is also about 15 minutes.
3. With ingredients prepared, the process is simple: Add water to a pot without sautéing scallions or ginger. Once boiling, add cooked starfish, egg custard soup, and blanched greens. After returning to a boil, no additional salt or MSG is needed since these were added earlier. This delicious, light, and nutritious egg custard soup is suitable for all ages.Starfish and Starfruit Stew with Lean Pork
Ingredients: 2 starfish, 2 starfruits, 500g lean pork, ginger, salt, bitter almonds, red dates, goji berries (to taste).
Method:
1. Soak starfish briefly in water, then scrub clean.
2. Cut starfruit and lean pork into large chunks.
3. Place all ingredients in a pot, add water, and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer over low heat for two hours, then season with salt to taste.
Carrot and Starfish Braised Pork Shank
Ingredients: 500g pork shank, 6 starfish, 2 honey dates, 25g goji berries, 1 carrot, salt and ginger to taste.
Method:
1. Cut pork shank into large chunks. Blanch in boiling water with ginger slices, then rinse and drain. Set aside.
2. Rinse starfish thoroughly with clean water; be sure to remove any sand.
3. Peel carrot and cut into chunks. Rinse honey dates and goji berries together.
4. Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add all ingredients, bring to a boil again, then switch to simmer mode (or low heat) and stew for about 2 hours. Season with salt to taste before serving.
The above recipes are prepared using the following method:
4. Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add all ingredients, bring to a boil again, then switch to soup mode (or low heat) and simmer for about two hours. Season with salt to taste before serving.This dish is excellent for nourishing the stomach and regulating the body—after all, savoring a dried starfish dish is far preferable to taking medicine. Dried starfish can also be used in stews, yielding a surprisingly sweet and savory broth that combines health benefits with stomach care.Do you have friends with sensitive stomachs? If so, invite them over for a bowl when you have free time!
Feeding Habits
Starfish are carnivorous, preying on various invertebrates—especially mollusks, crustaceans, polychaetes, and even fish. Some species are monophagous, like many that exclusively feed on bivalves. Others are polyphagous or omnivorous.
Their feeding methods primarily fall into three categories:
Most starfish possess long, flexible arms with tube feet equipped with suction cups, primarily feeding on bivalves. When feeding, the starfish positions itself atop the shell, suctioning two arms to either side. The vacuum created by the suction cups at the tube feet's ends generates sufficient force to pry open the bivalve's shell.The starfish then immediately extends its exostome stomach into the shell opening, secreting digestive enzymes. This process continues until the adductor muscle and internal organs are partially digested, causing the shell to fully open. The starfish then envelops the food with its stomach, swallowing it whole into its mouth.
Some species with short arms and tube feet lacking suckers feed on smaller animals like crustaceans. They swallow their prey whole, digesting it internally rather than externally.
Deep-sea species filter feed using cilia, sweeping organic debris from their surfaces into the ambulacral grooves via ciliary action to form food columns, which are then transported into the mouth. Examples include the maple starfish. Similarly, the chicken-claw starfish possesses cilia within its gastric blind sac, which aid in sucking food into the stomach through ciliary movement.
The digestive tract of starfish also follows a pentameral arrangement. The mouth is centrally located on the oral surface, surrounded by a circumoral membrane containing a ring muscle and sphincter that regulate mouth expansion and contraction. Posterior to the mouth lies the short esophagus, which leads into the enlarged stomach. Horizontal constrictions in the stomach wall divide it into the pyloric stomach near the oral surface and the smaller pyloric stomach near the aboral surface.During feeding, the esophageal stomach often evert, enveloping food before retracting into the body. The stomach wall contains 2–10 gastric bands originating from the coelom membrane, connecting it to the ossicles. A pyloric canal extends from the pyloric stomach to each arm, immediately bifurcating upon reaching the arm's base to extend to its tip.Along its course, the pyloric canal branches laterally into numerous ducts. Surrounded by abundant glandular cells, these form the pyloric blind sacs, which function as digestive glands (also termed hepatids). These glands secrete digestive enzymes and perform nutrient absorption and storage. Posterior to the pyloric stomach lies a very short intestine. Five rectal blind sacs surround the terminal rectum, which opens through a minute anal pore at the center of the ventral surface.Some species lack an intestine altogether, expelling undigested food through the mouth. The digestive tract's inner lining is covered with ciliated epithelium. The cardia stomach wall contains well-developed glandular cells that secrete digestive enzymes, particularly the pyloric blind sac, which produces proteases, amylases, and lipases. Food undergoes partial external digestion, with extracellular digestion occurring primarily in the stomach and intracellular digestion taking place within the pyloric blind sac.
So what are the benefits of starfish? Let's take a look.
Benefits of Starfish:
1. Medicinal and Nutritional Value of Starfish
The acidic mucopolysaccharides in starfish help regulate immune function. In recent years, the medicinal value of starfish has gained increasing recognition. Many marine pharmaceutical and food companies have developed products like starfish nutrient capsules, which demonstrate significant efficacy in preventing illness and strengthening the body.However, starfish contain toxins, so caution is essential when using them for home health supplements.
2. Medicinal Value Outweighs Edible Value. Dried starfish sold commercially are typically used as medicinal ingredients in soups.
Starfish have very little edible meat and are essentially not consumed. People mainly use male starfish to make nourishing soups. If consumed, the eggs of female starfish(sea star roe). Female sea star roe resembles ordinary fish roe in appearance. It can be simmered in soups or stir-fried with egg whites, scallops, and fresh shrimp to create a crab-like dish, which is then stuffed back into the sea star shell.Visually, this dish presents exquisitely. Though the starfish roe may seem unassuming, it offers a distinct sweetness and a texture that is tender yet firm. Paired with the sweetness of scallops and the smoothness of egg whites, the three flavors complement each other perfectly.
Precautions for Eating Starfish
1. Starfish contain toxins; exercise extreme caution when using them for home-based health tonics.
2. Not all starfish are edible; for example, purple starfish are not safe to consume.
3. Avoid eating large quantities of starfish at once, as it may cause diarrhea or even poisoning.
Starfish Recipes
I. Carrot and Starfish Braised Pork Shank
Ingredients: 500g pork shank,6 starfish, 2 honey dates, 25g goji berries, 1 carrot, salt and ginger to taste.
Method:
1. Cut pork shank into large chunks. Blanch in boiling water with ginger slices, then rinse and drain.
2. Rinse starfish thoroughly in clean water; be sure to remove any sand.
3. Peel and dice carrot into chunks. Wash honey dates and goji berries.
4. Bring water to a boil in a pot. Add all ingredients. Once boiling again, reduce to low heat and simmer for 3 hours.
5. Serve hot.
3. Peel and dice the carrot into chunks. Rinse the honey dates and goji berries together.
4. Bring water to a boil in a soup pot. Add all ingredients, bring to a boil again, then switch to simmer mode (or low heat) and simmer for about two hours. Season with salt to taste before serving.
II. Starfish and Starfruit Stewed Lean Meat Soup
Ingredients: 2 starfish, 2 starfruits, 500g lean pork, ginger, salt, bitter almonds, red dates, goji berries (to taste).
Method:
1. Soak starfish briefly in water, then scrub clean.
2. Cut starfruit and lean pork into large chunks.
3. Place all ingredients in a pot, add water, and bring to a boil.
4. Simmer over low heat for two hours, then season with salt to taste.
Editor's note: In some inland areas, starfish sold may not be genuine. Be sure to verify authenticity before purchasing to avoid being deceived!