Dried shredded squid / 魷魚絲


Traditional Chinese 魷魚絲 (by strand)
Simplified Chinese 鱿鱼丝
Hanyu Pinyin yóu yú sī
Cantonese Jyutping jau4 jyu4*2 si1
Literal meaning squid strand
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alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 魷魚片 (by slice)
Simplified Chinese 鱿鱼片
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Japanese name
Kanji 鯣
Kana スルメ
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Korean name
Hangul 오징어채
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Dried shredded squid is a dried, seasoned, seafood product commonly found in coastal Asian countries and Hawai'i, made from squid or cuttlefish. The snack is also referred to as shredded squid, dried seasoned squid, prepared rolled squid or sun dried squid, and dried shredded cuttlefish. It should not be confused with regular dried squid found in the Philippines.

Contents

[hide]
1 History and origins
2 Preparation
3 Packaging
4 Contamination
5 See also
6 References
[edit] History and origins

Historically, squid is common in Pacific coastal regions of East and Southeast Asia. The food has always been referred to by the native language name. Only after the packaged form began shipping to English speaking regions, did the translated English-language name "dried shredded squid" get imprinted on packages. The snack was already popularized, sold and consumed regularly in Hong Kong during the 1970s. Shredded squid began being sold in Macau as an addition to their almond biscuit. Hong Kong has also imported several brands from Japan and Taiwan, which are better adapted for mass production of this item. In Japan, it is called surume (スルメ　or 鯣) and popularly served as an otsumami, a snack consumed while drinking alcohol. In Korean cuisine, dried shredded squid is eaten as anju (food to eat while drinking), and as banchan (small side dishes) such as ojingeochae bokkeum (오징어채볶음), which is made by stir-frying shredded dried squid seasoned with a mixture of gochujang (chili pepper paste), garlics, and mulyeot (syrup-like condiment).[1][dead link]

[edit] Preparation



Thumb sized single strand


Ojingeochae bokkeum, a Korean dish stir-fried in a sauce based on gochujang (chili pepper paste).
Northern Pacific squid is separated into different parts and skinned, cooked at 65-80°C for 3-5 minutes, cooled, grated and seasoned at a temperature below 20°C for more than 4 hours. Sugar, salt, sorbitol, sweeteners, organic acid and MSG are typical additives.[2] They are then dried at 40-45C for 12-20 hours until it reaches a moisture level of 40%. It is then aged in a cold room for 2 weeks or longer, then dried at a higher temperature of 110-120C for 3-5 minutes.[2] It is then machine-shredded and seasoned for a second time, dried again to a reduced moisture level of 25-27%. At this phase the color is yellow or brownish. The amino acids on the squid are revealed by the increase in brown color over prolonged storage time. Vacuum packaging or nitrogen-filled packaging also increase browning. Consumers generally do not want excessive browning.[2]

[edit] Packaging

The most common distribution method in today's Asian countries is the pre-packaged format. The bags are usually sealed airtight to keep the squid chewy and tough. Depending on the company doing the packaging or preparation, each brand usually have their own ratio of MSG added on top.[citation needed]

Unpackaged versions are much more rare as they have traditionally been available in select specialty shops, usually sold next to beef jerky.

[edit] Contamination

News reports have claimed that arsenic and other toxic metals have been found in DSS packaged in Hong Kong.[3]

[edit] See also

Beef jerky
[edit] References

^ http://channel.patzzi.joins.com/article ... cook&Cont=[dead link]
^ a b c Doe, Peter E. [1998] (1998). Fish Drying and Smoking: Production and quality. CRC Press. ISBN 1566766680
^ News Sina. "News Sina." Hong Kong shredded squid has arsenic. Retrieved on 2007-06-08.

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dried_Shredded_Squid