What Is Surimi Made of? See food is nutritious to us and because of its nutritious value and taste numerous people love to eat seafood. This thing makes seafood thrive around the world but at the same time, its prices become high due to high demand. Because of this numerous substitutes are present in the market. For example, you can substitute Surimi for crabs. But what is surimi and what is surimi made of? Let’s explore it.
This food primarily is made of white meat fish it is the processed form of the Alaska Pollock or Pacific Whiting fish. As surimi consists of fish so numerous people use it to replace expensive plates of seafood like crabs.
What Is Surimi Made Of?
The meaning of the word Surimi is the “grounded meat” so outside the European countries you will see that every grounded meat is named as surimi.
However, the origin of this food is Japan, whose chef made the grounded meat of fish to store the extra fish meat. But nowadays you can get it from any store which has frozen meat.
What Is Surimi Made of? Nowadays, surimi is made from the processed mashed meat of Alaska Pollock and pacific whiting fishes. However, for the sake of flavor and taste manufacturers add starches, sugars, artificial flavoring, monosodium glutamate (MSG), etc.
As surimi is made of fish primarily so it can replace seafood like crabs (as crabs are expensive) and this is the most common imitation using surimi in Western Market. Not only crabs, but several other foods are imitating surimi as it is used for stuffing purposes as well.
There are hundred of products in which surimi is used for example,
A-gei:
This food is originally consisting of fried tofu and all the pieces of tofu sealed with the surimi.
Chikuwa:
This is also a Japanese product in which surimi is the main ingredient along with other ingredients like salt, sugar, starch, monosodium glutamate (MSG), etc.
Actually, chikuwa is a fishcake stick which steamed or broiled after wrapping the ingredients around the bamboo stick.
Crab Stick:
The real name of crab sticks is Kanikama and this is the food that is used to imitate crab meat.
Kamaboko:
This is another food which has surimi as its main ingredients. Kamaboko is a famous Japanese cuisine.
Gyoniku Soseji:
It is a sausage that is made with the surimi as the main ingredient. You can use this sausage in soups, noodles, or deep-fried dishes.
Other Dishes:
There are several other dishes which has surimi as the main ingredient. For example,
Hanpen: A surimi product with a round, square, or triangle shape.
Tsumire: These are the meatballs with surimi as the main ingredient.
Yong Tau Foo: This is a type of tofu that is filled with surimi. However, you can stuff other ingredients as well in tofu along with, for example, vegetables, mushrooms, etc.
As surimi is a part of such a variety of products so it is possible that you already eat it as an imitation of seafood. Because of the flavor purposes, surimi is the best product to substitute seafood.
Read Also: Is Shrimp A Fish ?
What Does Surimi Taste Like?
Ever you wonder if surimi will change the taste and odor of your dish being an imitation of the crabs. If you did this then don’t do this anymore because surimi has a very faint taste and odor.
However, crabs are different in tastes but surimi tastes like snow crab the most, rather than the other species. According to several other people, the taste of surimi is similar to shrimp as well. As surimi is made of fish so its taste is similar to other sea animals.
Can We Eat Surimi OR Imitation Crab Raw?
Imitation crab or surimi is a form of finely ground white fish which is primarily used to replace the leg meat of Japanese Spider crab.
But if you wonder to know about it that can you eat raw then a precise answer to this question is yes. Because surimi is already cooked when you purchase it. So you can say that there is no raw imitation crab or surimi available in the market.
Health Benefits of Surimi?
Real crabs are rich in several nutrients and vitamins. As surimi or the imitation of crab is not real crab so it is not containing similar nutrients and minerals. And most of the nutrients of surimi vanish during washing and processing. Let’s have a detailed look at the nutrient value of surimi.
Surimi is containing nutrients like fat, Omega-3 fat, proteins, cholesterol, calories, etc., lower than the real crab. However, the inferiority in cholesterol, fats, and calories than real crabs makes it a prior food for the people who are weight conscious.
At the same time, low cholesterol levels make it a favorite of several people as it can save you from several heart diseases.
But at the same time as surimi is a processed food that’s why it contains several other colorings, preservatives, and additives.
For example, gums to stick the material together, red colorants to color the surimi or imitation crab, glutamates for flavor enhancements, and several other additives like sodium benzoate to enhance the shelf life.
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A Final Thought: What Is Surimi Made of?
If you want to substitute the taste of expensive crabs, then you can consider surimi as it is cheap than crabs. But ever you think that what is surimi made of? This article explores it as this crab’s imitation also consists of white fish like Alaska Pollock or Pacific, in the final ground form with several other ingredients for coloring and preservative additives.
What Is Surimi Made of? As surimi is the final ground fish meat that’s why out of the western countries any grounded meat can be named surimi.