What is Scorpion Fish? What are the Benefits?

Scorpionfish in All Aspects

The fish species, which gained its name among the people after the Greek word “skorpidi” was translated into Turkish as “skorpit” , draws attention with its poisonous nature. The poison in its spines shows its effect when it touches the body. For this reason, it is necessary to pay attention to its features, hunting conditions, cleaning and cooking tricks. The flavor that emerges when all conditions are met will get full marks from all fish lovers.

What is Scorpion?

Scorpion, also known as Scorpaena porcus, is a fish species belonging to the Scorpaenidae family. Considering their qualifications and lifestyle; It is seen that it is similar to the Lipsos fish belonging to the same family. The feature that distinguishes Skorpit from Lipsos is its smaller size and darker color. Its head is large enough to cover half of its body.

Body colors can vary from dark red to light pink. The head has many spines and protrusions. It attracts attention with its round and wide pectoral fin. Since it lives at the bottom of the water, its eyes are located above its head. The curves of its wide mouth are sloping downwards. The fish, which has an average length of 20-30 cm, is known as a poisonous species. It contains venom in the first dorsal, ventral and anal fin. Venom is seen in 11 spines in the first dorsal fin, 1 in the ventral fin and 3 in the anal fin.

The scorpion, which has a characteristic feature with intense venom on its spines, releases its venom when it comes into contact with the human body. The poison shows its effect with swelling and redness. It is known that the effect of the poison continues for 2-3 days. In the treatment process, ammonia can be preferred. The fish can also switch to self-defense by stinging the body when it feels harmed. The other name of the scorpion in the folk expression is “multiplier”. Although it is poisonous, it can be the guest of many tables with its delicious meat. Dishes made with a scorpion and the taste of its meat can also remind of a swallow.

What are the Benefits of Scorpion Fish?

• With vitamin A in it, it meets the body’s need for vitamin A.
• It strengthens the eyesight and helps to see in the dark. It strengthens eye health.
• Thanks to the Omega 3 oil it contains, it makes a great contribution to the intellectual development of children, especially in the developmental age.
• It protects body structures and meets the needs of the body with the protein, minerals, and vitamins it contains.
• It has positive effects on dental health.
• Cancer etc. It shows protection against diseases.
• It helps to repair the formed and possible infections.
• It prevents diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
• It regulates blood pressure, balances cholesterol.
• Helping to lose weight as it accelerates the metabolism is also among the benefits of scorpionfish . With this feature, it can be included in diet programs.
• It has been proven to reduce the risk of stroke by 6% to 12% when consumed regularly.
• It strengthens the immune system, making it easier to catch and fight diseases.
• Since it prevents the storage of body fat, it reduces the risk of obesity.
• It purifies the veins and protects against cardiovascular diseases.
• It also shows strong antioxidant properties for the body.
• It strengthens the brain functions as it strengthens the brain neurons.
• It has a positive effect against diseases such as high blood pressure.
• Thanks to the calcium it contains, it supports bone development.

How to Hunt Scorpion?

The scorpionfish attracts attention with the venom in its spines. In particular, it is necessary to be careful and pay attention to some points when hunting fish that carry heavy poison in the back area. It is recommended that especially novice fishermen should be careful not to encounter stings and poisoning situations. With the good practice of scorpion hunting techniques, scorpionfish can be caught without any problems. In order to apply the techniques in the best way, it is necessary to know the properties of the scorpion well.

Since the scorpion usually lives at the bottom of the water, it is sedentary and lazy. Despite all this, it was observed that their fins were highly developed. Rocky and stony cave, etc. They are known to live in places. Scorpion, a native fish, can be seen in almost every sea of ​​Turkey.

Continuing to live in deep waters during the winter months, the fish begin to drift towards the shore as of the spring months. It is more common on stony coastal beaches, especially in August and September. Therefore, the best times to hunt scorpionfish are between August and September.

Care must be taken, especially when leaving the net, as it is toxic. In addition to this, one of the other techniques that should be considered is to know that the fish do not die easily. Since it is an inactive fish, it should not be fooled into lying still in the bucket, it should be ensured that it is dead. Otherwise, the needle will sting and the poison will infect the body it touches. Applying ammonia to the place where the poison touches is among the treatment methods. If itching, pain, and swelling persist despite this, a doctor or pharmacy should be consulted.

Scorpion Cleaning Technique

Even after the scorpionfish is caught, it continues to carry its poison. Therefore, there are some points to be considered during the cleaning phase after catching, and it is most appropriate to be cleaned by the fishermen. Since it carries its poison even after death, care should be taken not to touch its thorns. In addition, a sharp knife should be used to clean fish with thick skin.

• To clean the fish, the first step is to cut the spines from the tail to the top of the head. Although these cuts vary according to the size of the fish, they can go into the back.
• The spines on the abdomen in the next step are cut in the same way. If it is difficult during cutting, help from pliers or pliers can be taken.
• Then another longitudinal incision is made in the abdomen. This incision allows the internal organs to be cleaned. With the help of this incision, the internal organs are also removed and discarded.
• The head of the fish is separated from the body by a cut made under the gill. When separating the head of the fish, which has a thick skin, it will make your job easier to separate the body with the head. Otherwise, you may have difficulty in removing the skin. In this case, you can remove the skin with the help of pliers.
• After the skin on all sides of the fish is cleaned, it will be ready to use for cooking.

How to Cook Scorpion Fish?

With its white meat, scorpionfish preserves its place among the sought-after tastes of the tables. Many different recipes can be applied with its delicious meat. The most well-known of these recipes is the scorpion soup recipe. It can be said that fish, which is suitable for different recipes such as frying, grilling, steaming, pan, is famous for its soup.

To prepare the soup, the fish is boiled with the help of some lemon, salt, and vinegar. The water in which the fish is boiled is used to add to the soup. Onion and garlic are cut and roasted until they turn pink and brought together with boiling water. Then boiled fish, diced potatoes, some rice, and salt spices are added and left to boil.

Although the cooking methods of scorpionfish differ from recipe to recipe, cornmeal is usually used for frying. Fish covered with fine cornmeal is first thrown into the hot oil. After the first side is fried, the oil is drained and the other side is cooked in a pan without oil.