Sea cucumbers A marine animal sold dried, which has almost no flavour of its own but a prized, gelatinous texture that soaks up rich sauces. A banquet dish in Shandong and Fujian.
gelatinous · mild · absorbent
What to do with it Classics built on it
Shandong Scallion-braised sea cucumber Soaked dried sea cucumber braised in stock and soy with spring onions fried slowly to gold, until it's soft, glossy and full of scallion. No one here has made it yet Fujian Buddha jumps over the wall A banquet soup of abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, scallops, meats and mushrooms, sealed in a jar with rice wine and simmered for hours. No one here has made it yet Anhui Li Hongzhang hotchpotch A banquet mix of sea cucumber, fish maw, squid, ham, chicken, tofu and mushroom, simmered together in a good stock. No one here has made it yet Knowing it
Where to buy Chinese dried-goods shops, dried or ready-soaked. Rehydrating dried ones takes several days.
Worth knowing Rehydrated sea cucumber should be braised gently in a rich stock; it turns rubbery if boiled hard. When it's best
J F M A M J J A S O N D
Good all year.
Northern hemisphere.
Where it's from
East Asia · Japanese , Korean , Sichuan , Hunan , Cantonese , Teochew , Fujian , Zhejiang , Huaiyang , Shanghainese , Anhui , Shandong , Beijing , Yunnan , Uyghur and Xinjiang Search the index for sea cucumbers + Want to try