What Exactly Is Imitation Crab Meat And How Do You Cook With It?

Called "surimi" in the seafood industry, faux crab is a fish paste that gets pressed into the shape of crab legs and colored with food dye to look like real crab.

Turning surimi into faux crab involves deboning and washing it before mincing it into a paste. The only real crab in faux crab comes from extract, which gives it a crabby flavor.

Japanese chefs began turning their leftover fish waste into surimi about 900 years ago. The chefs used to give the fish a salt bath before grinding it into a gel.

The version of surimi we know today was invented by a Japanese chemist who figured out how to tap into sugar's preserving

powers — instead of salt's —

and the idea stuck around.

Surimi can be found in fish sticks, fish patties, and imitation lobster. In Japan, you can find

it in various products, like kamoboko, hanpen, and chikuwa.

It's worth noting that not all surimi comes from fish parts. Surimi means "ground meat" in Japanese, and many grocers sell products made from chicken surimi and other ground meat.

Surimi usually consists of Alaska pollock but is also often made from Pacific whiting, tilapia, and cod. Carp and sardines are used in China and Japan, respectively.

The fish used in surimi must be mild in flavor to allow it to eventually taste like crab. Fish that offer less value as a seafood dinner are typically chosen for the job.

When it comes to making surimi, the fish first gets shredded or mashed into a paste, which is then heated and molded to

look like crab leg meat.

Binding agents like sugar, egg whites, veggies, or starch are introduced before dyeing the product with bright crabby red

or orange. Occasionally, monosodium glutamate is tossed.