Surimi

Surimi (Japanese: , , literally "ground meat") refers to a paste made from fish or other meat. It can also refer to a number of Asian foods that use surimi as their primary ingredients. It is available in many shapes, forms, and textures, and often used to mimic the texture and color of the meat of lobster, crab, and other shellfish.

The most common surimi product in the Western market is imitation crab meat. Such a product often is sold as krab, imitation crab and mock crab in the United States, and as seafood sticks, crab sticks, fish sticks or seafood extender in Commonwealth nations. In Britain the product is sometimes known as Seafood sticks, to avoid breaching trading standards rules on false advertising.

The process for making surimi was developed in many areas of East Asia over several centuries though the exact history and origins of this product are unclear. In China, the food was used to make fish balls (魚蛋/魚丸) and ingredients in a thick soup known as "Geng" (羹) common in Fujian cuisine. In Japan, it is used in the making of numerous kamaboko, fish sausage, or cured surimi products.

The industrialized surimi-making process was refined in 1969 by Nishitani Yōsuke of Japan's Hokkaidō Fisheries Experiment Institute to process the increased catch of fish, to revitalize Japan's fish industry, and to make use of what used to be considered "fodder fish". Surimi industrial technology developed by Japan in the early 1960s promoted the growth of the surimi industry. The successful growth of the industry was based on the Alaska pollock (or walleye pollock). Subsequently, production of Alaska pollock surimi declined and was supplemented by surimi production using other species.

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