Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value.
The creature and the food product are commonly known as bêche-de-merinFrench, from Portuguesebicho do mar (literally "sea animal"), trepang (ortrīpang) in Indonesian, namakoinJapanese, balataninTagalog, loliinHawaiian and deniz patlıcanı (sea aubergine) in Turkish. In Malay, it is known as the gamat.[1]
The Philippine balatan or sea cucumber breeding/harvesting
Sea cucumbers destined for food are traditionally harvested by hand from small watercraft, a process called "trepanging" after the Indonesian Malay word for sea cucumber teripang.[2] They are dried for preservation, and must be rehydrated by boiling and soaking in water for several days. They are mainly used as an ingredient in Chinese cuisine soups or stews.
Many commercially important species of sea cucumber are harvested and dried for export for use in Chinese cuisineas海参 (pinyin: hǎishēn). Some of the more commonly found species in markets include:[3]
Haisom cah jamur, Chinese Indonesian sea cucumber with mushroomDried sea cucumbers
Western Australia has sea cucumber fisheries from Exmouth to the border of the Northern Territory; almost all of the catch is sandfish (Holothuria scabra). The fishing of the various species known as bêche-de-mer is regulated by state and federal legislation.
In the far north of Queensland, Australia, sea cucumber are harvested from the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. Targeted species include Holothuria noblis (white teatfish), Holothuria whitmaei (black teatfish) and H. scabra (sand fish). Divers are supplied air via hose or "hookah" from the surface and collect their catch by hand, diving to depths of up to 40 m.
The Asian market for sea cucumber is estimated to be US$60 million. The dried form accounts for 95% of the sea cucumber traded annually in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, and Japan.
It is typically used in Chinese cuisines. The biggest re-exporters in the trade are Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Singapore.[15] Of the 650 species of sea cucumbers, just 10 species have commercial value.[15] In 2013, the Chinese government cracked down on the purchasing of sea cucumbers by officials as their expensive price tag could be seen as a sign of opulence.[16]
In Japan, sea cucumber is also eaten raw, as sashimiorsunomono, and its intestine is also eaten as konowata, which is salted and fermented food (a variety of shiokara).
The dried ovary of sea cucumber is also eaten, which is called konoko (このこ) or kuchiko (くちこ).
Sea cucumbers are considered non-kosher in Jewish dietary law, since they lack scales.[17]
Both a fresh form and a dried form are used for cooking, though its preparation is complex due to its taste being entirely "tasteless and bland".[18][self-published source?] In the Suiyuan shidan, the Chinese Qing Dynasty manual of gastronomy, it is stated: "As an ingredient, sea cucumbers have little to no taste, are full of sand, and are fishy in smell. For these reasons, it is also the most difficult ingredient to prepare well."(海參，無味之物，沙多氣腥，最難討好。) Much of the preparation of sea cucumber goes into cleaning and boiling it, then stewing it in meat broths and extracts to infuse each sea cucumber with flavour.[19]
Chinese folk belief attributes male sexual health and aphrodisiac qualities to the sea cucumber, as it physically resembles a phallus, and uses a defence mechanism similar to ejaculation as it stiffens and squirts its own entrails at the aggressor. It is also considered a restorative for tendonitis and arthritis.[1]
Following campaigns encouraging people to avoid shark fin soup, sea cucumber has become an increasingly popular replacement in China.[20]: 270
Cooked sea cucumber
Sea cucumber dish
Fried sea cucumber
Braised sea cucumber with mushrooms, pork, and tea eggs
Sea cucumber rice roll
Sea cucumber with scallions, a famous Shandong dish
^ abAlessandro Lovatelli, C. Conand, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Advances in sea cucumber aquaculture and management: Volume 463 of FAO fisheries technical paper United Nations Food & Agriculture Org., 2004. ISBN978-92-5-105163-4. 425 pages: 58
^RAMOFAFIA C.; BYRNE M.; BATTAGLENE S. C (2003). "Development of three commercial sea cucumbers, Holothuria scabra, H. fuscogilva and Actinopyga mauritiana: larval structure and growth". Marine and Freshwater Research. 54 (5): 657–667. doi:10.1071/MF02145. ISSN1323-1650.
^Brown, S.; Hart, A. (May 2004). "Beche-de-mer fishery status report"(PDF). State of the fisheries report. Department of fisheries. p. 3. Retrieved 2009-01-03.
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