Dried shredded squid is a dried, shredded, seasoned, seafood product, made from squid or cuttlefish, commonly found in coastal

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

n countries,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

. The snack is also referred to as dried shredded cuttlefish.

History and origins

Historically, squid is common in

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coastal regions of

East Asia East Asia is the eastern region of Asia, which is defined in both Geography, geographical and culture, ethno-cultural terms. The modern State (polity), states of East Asia include China, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Taiwan. ...

and

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

. After the packaged form began shipping to English-speaking regions, the Japanese word ''surume'' and ''yóu yú sī'' in Chinese for this form of seafood was translated as "dried shredded squid" and imprinted on packages. The snack was popularized, sold, and consumed regularly in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

during the 1970s. Shredded squid began being sold in

Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a p ...

as an addition to their

almond biscuit An almond biscuit, or almond cookie, is a type of biscuit that is made with almonds. They are a common biscuit in many different cuisines and take many forms. Types of almond biscuits include almond macaroons, Spanish ''almendrados'', qurabiya (a ...

. In China, it is usually considered to be a light snack, sold in bags in many department stores in major cities. In Japan, dried shredded squid is popularly served as an '' otsumami'' (snack consumed while drinking alcohol). In Korean cuisine, dried shredded squid is eaten as '' anju'' (food to eat while drinking) and as ''

banchan ''Banchan'' (, from Korean: ) or bansang are small side dishes served along with cooked rice in Korean cuisine. As the Korean language does not distinguish between singular and plural grammatically, the word is used for both one such dish o ...

'' (small side dishes), such as the dish '' ojingeochae bokkeum'', which is made by

stir-frying Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and t ...

dried shredded squid seasoned with a mixture of '' gochujang'' (chili pepper paste), garlics, and ''

mullyeot ''Yeot'' is a variety of ''hangwa'', or Korean traditional confectionery. It can be made in either liquid or solid form, as a syrup, taffy, or candy. ''Yeot'' is made from steamed rice, glutinous rice, glutinous sorghum, corn, sweet potato ...

'' (corn syrup-like condiment). In

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

, it was also popular amongst the older generation when it was sold in a

Mama shop A mama shop or mamak shop (from Tamil மாமா ''māmā'', meaning ''uncle'' or ''elder'') is a convenience store or sundry shop in Singapore that is often located under a high-rise apartment block built by the Housing and Development Board ...

. It was marketed as the

Chewing gum of the Orientals Dried shredded squid is a dried, shredded, seasoned, seafood product, made from squid or cuttlefish, commonly found in coastal Asian countries, Russia, and Hawaii. The snack is also referred to as dried shredded cuttlefish. History and origins ...

by the food manufacturing company Ken Ken in the 1970s, before the chewing gum ban in Singapore in 1992.

Preparation

Northern Pacific squid is separated into different parts and skinned; cooked at 65–80 °C for 3–5 minutes; and cooled, grated and seasoned at a temperature below 20 °C for more than four hours. Sugar, salt, sorbitol,

sweeteners A sugar substitute is a food additive that provides a sweetness like that of sugar while containing significantly less food energy than sugar-based sweeteners, making it a zero-calorie () or low-calorie sweetener. Artificial sweeteners may be d ...

, organic acid, and

MSG Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium Salt (chemistry), salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a fl ...

are typical additives.Doe, Peter E.

998 Year 998 ( CMXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – Otto III retakes Rome and restores power in the papal city. Crescenti ...

(1998). Fish Drying and Smoking: Production and quality. CRC Press. They are then dried at 40–45 °C for 12–20 hours until it reaches a moisture level of 40%. It is then aged in a cold room for two weeks or longer and dried at a higher temperature of 110–120 °C for 3–5 minutes. It is then machine shredded and seasoned for a second time and dried again to a reduced moisture level of 25–27%. At this phase, the color is yellow or brownish. The

amino acid Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha a ...

s on the squid are revealed by the increase in brown color over prolonged storage time. Vacuum packaging or nitrogen-filled packaging also increases browning. Consumers generally do not want excessive browning.

Packaging

The most common distribution method in today's Asian countries is the prepackaged 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 has its own ratio of

added. Unpackaged versions are much rarer than traditionally available in certain

specialty shops A specialty store is a shop/store that carries a deep assortment of brands, styles, or models within a relatively narrow category of goods. Furniture stores, florists, sporting goods stores, and bookstores are all specialty stores. Stores such as ...

, usually sold next to

beef jerky Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...

Cultural significance

"Chewing gum of the Orientals" is the tagline for a Singaporean snack, Pon Pon, seasoned and prepared dried shredded squid. It was sold in the early 1960s in

as Pon Pon, and later as Ken Ken, before the ban on chewing gum in Singapore in 1992. The concept stuck with Singaporeans. Many older Singaporeans grew up eating this cuttlefish snack before the advent of modern-day snacks such as chocolates and chips. Ken Ken Cuttlefish is still available in all the major supermarkets in Singapore. The Ken Ken prepared cuttlefish "Chewing gum of the Orientals" is one of the nostalgic snacks that older Singaporeans remember, like

White Rabbit (candy) White Rabbit Creamy Candy () is a brand of milk candy manufactured by Shanghai Guan Sheng Yuan Food, Ltd. (), in China. It is an iconic cultural brand and has been in production since 1943. Ingredients and varieties White Rabbit candies are ...

and

haw flakes Haw flakes () are Chinese sweets made from the fruit of the Chinese hawthorn. The pale/dark pink candy is usually formed into discs two millimeters thick, and packaged in cylindrical stacks with label art resemblant of Chinese fireworks. The sw ...

. The snack was sold in ''mamak'' shops along the streets in Singapore. These were little provision stores that provided daily amenities and snacks to the community in olden Singapore. This was before the entrance of large chain supermarkets that caused rising competition towards the ''mamak'' shop's survival. Snacks like prepared cuttlefish that were popular amongst the older generation are slowly being phased out. The younger generation of Singaporeans is more westernised and less likely to form a taste for the traditional snack. The snack with its iconic green and white packaging was showcased in the Images of Singapore museum in Sentosa.

Taste and texture

Joe Distefano from The Village Voice describes it as ''“The fibrous bits are just chewy enough to give your jaws a slight work out. A goodly amount of sugar, chili pepper, and salt help round out the funky fishiness.”''

Contamination

News reports have claimed that

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

and other toxic metals have been found in dried shredded squid packaged in Hong Kong.News Sina.
香港抽检发现多款鱿鱼丝含有砒霜
" ''Hong Kong shredded squid has arsenic.'' Retrieved on 2007-06-08.

References

{{Cantonese cuisine Dried fish Snack foods Squid dishes Chinese cuisine Japanese cuisine Korean cuisine Taiwanese cuisine Macau cuisine Hong Kong cuisine