Did you know that besides being delicious, sea cucumbers are also known to be packed with nutrients?
A good source of protein, sea cucumbers are also known to be packed vitamins (A, B, B1 and B3), minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc).
Cultural Significance for Chinese New Year
A delicacy in Chinese cuisine, they are an auspicious dish for Chinese New Year symbolising prosperity and due to their Chinese name 海参 (Hai Shen), sounding like giving birth (生) in Chinese, it symbolises that the household will be blessed with a newborn this new year.
Recommended Cooking Methods
Like a sponge, sea cucumber tends to soak up all the goodness of the dishes that they are cook with. The recommended cooking methods include braising, stir-fry or steamboat. With each different cooking method, it is important to choose the right sea cucumber respectively.
Types of Sea Cucumbers
Here are some different types of Sea Cucumbers that you can find in Singapore:
For braising, choose sea cucumbers that are of thick cuts, such as White Teat, Golden or Tiger Sea Cucumber.
For stir fry or steamboat, you can choose sea cucumber that has been cut into smaller pieces such as Tiger Sea Cucumber Cut or Sandfish sea cucumber.
Recipes
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Stir fry Tiger Sea Cucumber with Prawns
Ingredients
Sauce:
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp hua diao wine1-2 pcs of frozen tiger sea cucumber (use ready-to-cook sea cucumber, if using dry sea cucumber, rehydrating is required)
5-6pcs of prawns
Ginger/spring onion (optional)
1 plummet of broccoli
1 red and 1 yellow capcisum
Minced garlic
2-3 pcs of diced soaked Chinese mushroom (keep the water)
50-100ml of mushroom water
Cornstarch slurry
Steps:
2. Braised Sea Cucumber with Broccoli and Abalone
1. Boil broccoli, set aside
2. Slice and boil sea cucumber (optional w ginger or spring onion)
3. Prepare the sauce, slice capsicums
4. Saute minced garlic and diced mushrooms
5. Add in sea cucumber, combine sauce
6. Add in 50-100ml of mushroom water
7. Add capsicum and broccoli
8. Add prawns and saute till cooked
9. Thicken with cornstarch flurry
Ingredients
1 broccoli
2-3 pieces of frozen tiger sea cucumber (thawed), use ready-to-cook sea cucumber to avoid the hassle of having to rehydrate and clean them
Canned Abalone
4-5 dried mushrooms
minced garlic
Sauce:
1 tbsp light soy suace
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
dash of white pepper
200ml water
Steps:
1. Soak the mushrooms overnight
2. Mix the sauce and set aside
3. Boil the sea cucumber for 5-10 mins and set aside
4. In a pan, heat the oil, saute minced garlic and mushrooms
5. Season with white pepper
6. Add in premixed sauce
7. Add in sea cucumber and abalone, let it cook for 5 mins on low heat.
8. Serve
Frequently Asked Questions
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Do I need to process Sea Cucumber?
Yes, if you purchase dry sea cucumber, you will need to rehydrate them according to your preference and clean them. However, you can also save the hassle and purchase sea cucumber that has already been rehydrated, cleaned and ready to cook.
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How do I know which cut of Sea Cucumber to choose?
As a general rule of thumb, for braising, choose sea cucumber of a thick cut. Common sea cucumbers that comes in thick cuts include White Teat, Golden or Tiger Sea Cucumber. For stir-fry or steamboat, you may opt for smaller cuts of sea cucumber such as sandfish or tiger sea cucumber cuts.
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Where can I buy quality Sea Cucumber?
You can purchase sea cucumber from reputable seafood suppliers such as Seaco. TheSeafoodCompany has been supplying sea cucumbers to top Chinese restaurants in Singapore for years. They have dried and rehydrated sea cucumber available in store. A small selection of frozen sea cucumber which has already been rehydrated and cleaned can be found on their online store. The best selling product is the Frozen Tiger Sea Cucumber.