Best Dried Sea Cucumber Selection guide by Teck Sang (2023) on Hong Kong Street - Dried Seafood Guide Series

What is the history and story behind the Dried Sea Cucumber

The Asian Chinese have classified the "Sea Cucumber" or "Beche de Mer" as one of their "Four Sea-Treasures" in their Asian cuisine cooking as top tier ingredients.

Today, this dried seafood's popularity is shared amongst dried Abalone, Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber, Dried Scallop (replaced Shark-fin). These dried seafood delicacies are known as Hoi Mei. 

Sea cucumbers are often consumed and traditionally used in Asian countries. Three promising species, which are most highly valued, are Stichopus harteni, Thelenota ananas, and Actinopyga mauritiana. These organisms may provide high-value protein with proteins being thought to have therapeutic properties such as triterpene glycosides, carotenoids, bioactive peptides, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, collagens, gelatins, chondroitin sulfates, amino acids.

The health benefits of recent research have been confirmed in certain sea cucumber materials, leading to development in the food and biomedicine industries.

Sea cucumbers are often believed to be shadowy animal that, perhaps because it is brown and ugly looking, gets overlooked in a busy world. The sea cucumber is capable of living for more than 610 million years, but during that time has only developed 17 types throughout the continent Asia-Pacific.

Image	Product	Features	Price
	Hokkaido Sea Cucumber		Buy Now
	Fujian Sea Cucumber		Buy Now
	Jinshan Sea cucumber		Buy Now

What are dried sea cucumbers?

Dried sea cucumber for sale online, translation of "Sea Ginseng."

Today it is estimated that over 3 million people around the world participate in different types of sea cucumber fisheries targeting more than 60 species on all continents, predominantly to produce "Bêche-de-Mer" for the Chinese dried seafood market. To the Chinese market, "Sea Ginseng" is considered a tonic ingredient that greatly benefits the health and balance of the body.

Sea cucumbers are said to be nutritious because they contain high levels of glutathione, an antioxidant that helps scavenge for free radicals in our bodies and boost immunity.

Top Sea Cucumber selection Guide by Teck Sang

Which are the top varieties of dried sea cucumbers

There are four types of prestigious dried seafood in Chinese cuisine. Sea cucumber is one of the most popular types, with around 40 varieties classified into smooth-skinned and soft spines on surface variety. There is a complex history behind sea cucumbers that has been overlooked by many people who only know about it from eating them.

We believe that the best varieties of dried sea cucumbers are the ones with a history or an interesting story behind them. We have decided to compile all 4 types of prestigious Sea Cucumber and give you some tips on how to select which one is for your taste.

WHAT DOES SEA CUCUMBER TASTE LIKE? WHY ARE THEY A DELICACY? 

Why are they so expensive?

Sea cucumbers were harvested along the coastline of Northeastern China, Japan, and Korea. Urbanites used to pay a premium for this delicacy but it is much more available today.

There are now a whole lot of different types of sea cucumbers available to purchase from around the world. Some that can be found in markets and even soaked, ready to cook.

However, the Spiny sea cucumbers recently sought after because of their multiple interesting characteristics are growing more and more expensive in comparison to the average one.

Prickly Sea Cucumber

Belief to have medicinal value and it's no surprise that it fetches the highest price tag.

What are the health benefits of Sea Cucumber?

According to the US Department of Agriculture and Healthline, Sea Cucumbers have several nutritional health benefits and are a perfect ingredient for managing your blood sugar and weight loss. 

Other Benefits include: 

• High in antioxidants 
• High in protein - benefitting heart health, lower blood pressure and improves bone density

Source: WebMD

Sea cucumbers are incredibly nutritious

Health food Dried seafood

Dried sea cucumber is a popular food that many people will consume. It has been shown to have high nutrient levels, including B vitamins and antioxidants. There has been a lot of research done into dried sea cucumber products and they are beneficial for fighting cancer cells, heart health, and bacteria.

Potential health benefits

Cancer-fighting properties

Antimicrobial properties

Heart and liver health

5 Basic Steps in the Selection of Sea Cucumbers

1. The Smell test

2. The Dryness test

3. The Physical eyeball and squeeze test

4. Classification type

What are the Types of Sea Cucumber in the market?

Are all of them eatable?

Don't eat anything that is Blue! This still holds true in the Sea Cucumber world. Some of their skin is thick, texture and chewy, not necessary all are eatable

Before transforming into a deluxe food ingredient, a freshly-caught sea cucumber needs to be gutted and dried. Even though the varieties available now are much wider, sea cucumbers can be roughly divided into the following types according to their prices:

 

 Prickly Sea Cucumber

 Prickly sea cucumber is dark and elongated, with soft spines grown throughout the body. It’s the most expensive among the three categories, beloved for its crunchy and springy texture. The main producers come from Shandong and the Liaodong Peninsula in China, the areas of Kanto, Kansai, Aomori and Hokkaido in Japan, as well as Korea. Japanese-grown sea cucumber boasts the largest size and highest quality, hence its higher price. In recent years, Mexico has emerged as a net exporter of spiny sea cucumber with decent quality and reasonable prices.

 

 Bald Sea Cucumber

Australia, the Middle East and Africa are the primary origins of bald sea cucumber. It has a rounded head and plumper body than a spiny sea cucumber. Beneath the grey skin is a thick layer of flesh that makes for a softer texture. Furthermore, the bald sea cucumber is a tasty treat for those who cannot eat spiky sea cucumbers.

 

 White Teat Sea Cucumber

 Coming from Australia, Africa and Indonesia, white teat sea cucumber bears white dots on the off-white skin.

Japanese sea cucumbers are made by drying fresh sea cucumbers.

They are a kind of seafood that is of high nutritious value.

Though they live in the sea, sea cucumbers are usually thought of as a warm and soothing food category.

Similar to ginseng in this regard, they are called Haishen (literally "ginseng of the sea") in Chinese.

However, they don’t have a hot nature; they have a mild cool nature in the Chinese food Heaty/cool classification.

 

Sea Cucumbers species in Japanese waters

The Japanese Sea Cucumbers have roughly identical diet therapy efficacy, and their processing steps are roughly the same. According to their species and origin, they can be categorized into Hokkaido Sea Cucumber, Kanto Sea Cucumber, Kansai Sea Cucumber, Okinawa Sea Cucumber, Akita Sea Cucumber, Red Sea Cucumber, and Okinawa Sea Cucumber. In general, they can be rehydrated from 4 to 8 times their original weight (depending on various specifications and rehydrating degrees).

Features：

​​Hokkaido Sea Cucumber

These are mainly produced in Hokkaido, a region to the north of Kanto. Due to geographical, climate, and water quality factors, the quality is of sea cucumbers belong to the top grade, in spite of their slow-growing speed. Despite their small size, they are characterized by thick, tender, and smooth meat, thin greyish-brown skin, and dense conical spikes (about 6 columns) of various sizes. This is why they are also called Chichen (literally "spiking cucumber") in Chinese. They can be rehydrated to about 8 -fold their original weight.

 

Kanto Sea Cucumber

These are mainly produced in the Kanto region. Due to geographical, climate, and water quality factors, their quality is also of top grading, in spite of their slow growing speed. They are not big in size, but their meat is thick. They are characterized by tender and smooth meat, dense (but sparser than those of Hokkaido Sea Cucumbers) conical spikes (about 6 columns), and thin skin that is greyish-black in most cases. They can be rehydrated to about 6-fold their original weight.

 

Kansai Sea Cucumber

Mainly produced in the Kansai region, (they have) cylinder-shaped meat. They are named for their spikes. Their meat is succulent, soft and smooth and can be rehydrated to about 4-fold their original weight. Their water has a slight green tint because of the growing environment and the consumption of algae as part of their diet.

 

Okinawa Sea Cucumber

Mainly produced in the Kansai region, they are of the genus Stichopus, characterized by spikes along their sides and a layer of greyish-white carbon powder. Their meat is soft and smooth and has an agreeable flavour. They can be rehydrated to about 5-fold their original weight.

 

Akita Sea Cucumber

Mainly produced in Akita Prefecture, Kansai in Northeastern Japan, these cucumbers are of the genus Stichopus and have a shape that is similar to Kanto Sea Cucumbers. They are characterized by thin light greyish dark skin, sparse spikes, and tender, glutinous, soft, and smooth meat. They can be rehydrated to about 6-fold their original weight.

 

Red Sea Cucumber

Mainly produced in Southwestern Japan, these cucumbers are also called Hongzishen in Chinese. They are stout and their yellowish-brown or red-brown surface is covered with sparse and barely visible spikes. Their appearance is distinct and their thick, soft, and smooth meat tastes light and smells pleasant. They can be rehydrated to about 4-fold their original weight.

 

Okinawa Sea Cucumber

One variety of cucumbers from Okinawa, Japan has spindle-shaped bodies with bumpy yellowish-brown bellies. Its deep dark brown body colour and a smooth meat surface make these cucumbers very popular in markets. They can be rehydrated to about 4-fold their original weight.

Because the processing methods and cucumber species vary, the water used for the rehydration of Kansai Sea Cucumber sometimes may have a faint yellowish grey color, which is a natural phenomenon.

Effectiveness of Sea Cucumbers for Traditional Medicine 

Sea cucumbers are a healthy choice among food sources because they have kidney-tonifying, essence-replenishing, blood-nourishing, skin-moistening and complexion-beautifying capabilities. They are especially beneficial for people with a weakened constitution.

From the practices at ancient Chinese pharmacies to modern-day western institutions, dried sea cucumbers of all grades are used as natural medicine. It is one of the most widely grown medicinal products available in China and have even been considered being akin to miracles by former Chinese Emperor Qianlong (Hong, 2014)

 

How To Rehydrating (Soak) And Clean Sea Cucumbers before cooking

Rehydrating and preparing sea cucumbers is very easy. Patience and care are all that it takes. Below is a simple guide:

1         First, check for the visual status of the dried sea cucumber and detect any signs of mould or parasites. Discard if there is a presence.

2         next, wash the salt off the sea cucumber delicately and rinse out any sand that may remain. You must be gentle when cooking it so as

3         Soak the sea cucumber for two days in clean water, with daily water changes. Some varieties take awhile to soften and you can speed up the process by adjusting the time in warm water.

4         Cut open the sea cucumber and remove the internal organs after it has been boiling for 20 to 30 minutes. If you still find that the sea cucumber feels hard, boil it again for 2-3 times and change the water every time before removing the object.

Boil or raw boil the sea cucumber as desired. For cooking at home, choose a strong-flavoured ingredient that is appropriate for sea cucumbers Like braising with onions, roe or sauce.

Storage of hydrated Sea cucumber.

Keeping safe dried marine cucumbers isn’t difficult: they should be stored at cool and dry places.

If you are not going to use it in a while, pack the sea cucumber with enough water inside their bodies and put them at the back of your fridge.

You can buy sea cucumber in various conditions—either dried and soaked, or frozen and soaked.. The quality of the first two choices is better.

It seems like a good idea to buy dried sea cucumbers and prepare them at home, and thaw them whenever you might want to use them for cooking.

Freezing sea cucumbers would hardly change the flavour. The real difference is during the soaking process, which is important in how they come out after being cooked.

 

5 Tips what not to do when handling Sea Cucumber

1         Keep them dry, don't freeze them dry

2         Oil contact

3         Give them time to rehydrate to fullness

4         Clean and removal of the guts... smell

5         Beware of FAKE sea cucumbers

Top 5 Asian favourite Sea Cucumber recipes

Chinese Hot pot/Steamboat (Chinese New year Eve dinner)

Pen Cai (Poon Choi) For Reunion Dinner Chinese New Year

To celebrate the family reunion dinner on the eve of Chinese New Year, many families will be celebrating with a hearty Claypot Pen Cai, or Poon Choi. To ring in a prosperous new year and enjoy the best of this dish, this article outlines what Pen Cai ingredients you should buy, especially how to select the best abalone, fish maw, and oysters for the dish. These ingredients, along with Sea Cucumber are among the top ingredients you need to invest in. 

2) Back link to Best Abalone

3) Backlink to Best Fish Maw

4) Backlink to Best Oyster

Dried sea cucumber in Singapore, Braised Sea Cucumber in Sauces

Japanese Style /Korean Style

Abalone / Sea cucumber

Dried sea cucumber in Singapore, Braised Sea Cucumber in Sauces

Spicy Variation (Singapore style)

Singapore style Sea Cucumber

FAQ

HOW LONG DO DRIED sea cucumbers LAST?

Once they are dried correctly. They can be for quite a few stored for few years

HOW TO STORE DRIED sea cucumber?

In dried cool storage that does not extract it moisture or make the mould. A proper storage is vacuum jar or airtight box kept in the fridge or cupboard away from moisture. 

WHY IS DRIED sea cucumber SO EXPENSIVE?

(TBC)

What is the typical Dried sea cucumber price?

(TBC)

WHERE TO BUY Dried Sea Cucumber in Singapore?

Chuen Jia Fu, The BRAND that spells quality. The Brand that delivers blissful blessings to the families.

Where to Buy Sea Cucumber

Shipping & Delivery

(As seen in SIA SilverKris Class Cabin Magazine)

Braised Sea Cucumber Recipe



Calories Facts


Nutritional Benefits

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