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 type of seafood made of starch and finely pulverized white fish ( surimi ) that has been 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.
Originally known as kanikama (カニカマ) in Japanese, [2] from kani (蟹) "crab" and kamaboko (蒲鉾) "fish sausage", in the United States the product is often simply called kani. [3]
Sugiyo Co., Ltd. ( スギヨ , Sugiyo) of Japan first produced and patented imitation crab flesh in 1974, as Kanikama. This was a flake type. In 1975, Osaki Suisan Co., Ltd., of Japan 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. [4]
Most crab sticks today are made from Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) of the North Pacific Ocean. [5] 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. [6] Crab flavoring is added (natural or more commonly, artificial) and a layer of red food coloring is applied to the outside.
Sushi is a Japanese dish of prepared vinegared rice, usually with some sugar and salt, plus a variety of ingredients, such as vegetables, and any meat, but most commonly seafood. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is "sushi rice", also referred to as shari (しゃり), or sumeshi (酢飯).
Kamaboko (蒲鉾:かまぼこ) is a type of cured surimi, a processed seafood product common in Japanese cuisine.
The Dungeness crab makes up one of the most important seafood industries in the range it inhabits along the west coast of North America. It typically grows 20 cm across and inhabits eelgrass beds and sandy bottoms. Its common name comes from the Dungeness Spit in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Washington, United States, which shelters a shallow bay inhabited by the crabs.
Chikuwa (竹輪) is a Japanese fishcake product made from fish surimi. After mixing them 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.
Fish balls are balls made from fish paste which are then boiled or deep-fried. Similar in composition to fishcake, fish balls are often made from fish mince or surimi, salt, and a culinary binder such as tapioca flour, corn, or potato starch.
The daggertooth pike conger also known as the darkfin pike eel in Australia, to distinguish it from the related pike-eel, is a species of eel in the pike conger family, Muraenesocidae. They primarily live on soft bottoms in marine and brackish waters down to a depth of 800 m (2,600 ft), but may enter freshwater. They commonly grow to about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) in length, but may grow as long as 2.2 m (7.2 ft). Daggertooth pike congers occur in the Red Sea, on the coast of the northern Indian Ocean, and in the West Pacific from Indochina to Japan. A single specimen was also reported in the Mediterranean Sea off Israel in 1982.
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
Cod and other cod-like fish have been widely used as food through history. Other cod-like fish come from the same family (Gadidae) that cod belong to, such as haddock, pollock, and whiting.
Surimi is a paste made from fish or other meat. The term can also refer to 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.
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.