Alternative names | imitation crab meat, seafood sticks, krab |
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Place of origin | Japan |
Main ingredients | white fish |
Crab sticks, krab sticks, snow legs, imitation crab meat, or seafood sticks are a Japanese seafood product made of surimi (pulverized white fish) and starch, then shaped and cured to resemble the leg meat of snow crab or Japanese spider crab. [1] It is a product that uses fish meat to imitate shellfish meat.
In Japanese, it is called kanikama (カニカマ), a portmanteau of kani ("crab") and kamaboko ("fish cake"). In the United States, it is often simply called kani. [2]
The Japanese company Sugiyo first produced and patented imitation crab flesh in 1974, as kanikama. This was a flake type. In 1975, the company Osaki Suisan first produced and patented imitation crab sticks.
In 1977, The Berelson Company of San Francisco, California, US, working with Sugiyo, introduced them internationally. Kanikama is still their common name in Japan, but internationally they are marketed under names including Krab Sticks, Ocean Sticks, Sea Legs and Imitation Crab Sticks. Legal restrictions now prevent them from being marketed as "Crab Sticks" in many places, as they usually do not have crab flesh. [3]
Most crab sticks today are made from Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) of the North Pacific Ocean. [4] This main ingredient is often mixed with fillers such as wheat, and egg white (albumen) [1] or other binding ingredient, such as the enzyme transglutaminase. [5] Crab flavoring is added (natural or more commonly, artificial) and a layer of red food coloring is applied to the outside.
Crab sticks are used in sushi, salads, fried in tempura, and many other dishes.
Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, plus a variety of ingredients, such as vegetables, meat, or most commonly, seafood, which may be raw or cooked. There are many styles of sushi, and its presentation varies widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice", also referred to as shari (しゃり), or sumeshi (酢飯).
Tempura is a typical Japanese dish that usually consists of seafood and vegetables that have been coated in a thin batter and deep fried. Tempura has its origins dating back to the 16th century, when Portuguese Jesuits brought the Western-style cooking method of coating foods with flour and frying, via Nanban trade.
Kamaboko (蒲鉾:かまぼこ) is a type of cured surimi, a processed seafood product common in Japanese cuisine.
Chikuwa (竹輪) is a Japanese fishcake product made from fish surimi. After being mixed well, they are wrapped around a bamboo or metal stick and steamed or broiled. The word chikuwa comes from the shape when it is sliced.
California roll or California maki is an uramaki containing imitation crab, avocado, and cucumber. Sometimes crab salad is substituted for the crab stick, and often the outer layer of rice is sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or roe.
A fishcake is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden.
Satsuma-age (薩摩揚げ) is a fried fishcake originating from Kagoshima, Japan. Surimi and flour is mixed to make a compact paste that is solidified through frying. It is a specialty of the Satsuma region. It is known by a variety of regional names throughout Japan.
The Alaska pollock or walleye pollock is a marine fish species of the cod genus Gadus and family Gadidae.
Crab meat or crab marrow is the meat found within a crab, or more specifically in the leg of a crab. It is used in many cuisines around the world for its soft, delicate and sweet flavor. Crab meat is low in fat and provides approximately 340 kilojoules (82 kcal) of food energy per 85-gram (3 oz) serving. Brown crab, blue crabs, blue swimming crabs, and red swimming crabs are among the most commercially available species of crabmeat globally.
Content in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at フジミツ; see its history for attribution
Surimi is a paste made from fish or other meat. It can also be any of a number of East Asian foods that use that paste as their primary ingredient. It is available in many shapes, forms, and textures, and is often used to mimic the texture and color of the meat of lobster, crab, grilled Japanese eel, or shellfish.
Alaska pollock, a species of cod (Gadus) found in the North Pacific Ocean, is used as food globally. Compared with common pollock, Alaska pollock is milder in taste, whiter in color, and lower in oil content.
Rainbow roll is a type of uramaki sushi roll filled with cucumber, avocado and crab stick. It is prepared with multiple types of fish, most commonly tuna, salmon, white fish, yellowtail, snapper, and eel. Rainbow roll is quite similar to the California roll, with the addition of tuna, salmon and avocado. Other variants include slices of mango next to avocado, or uses of imitation crab meat, fried shrimp tempura, and other seafood.
Gyoniku sausage is a Japanese fish sausage made from surimi. It is sold in a plastic casing as a snack. Gyoniku soseji is similar to the traditional fish cake, kamaboko. Gyoniku soseji and kamaboko together constitute 26% of Japanese fish consumption.