Surimi and surimi based fish products Surimi is a refined form of minced fish meat.

It is an intermediate raw material from which the traditional Japanese kneaded foods called "kamaboko" are manufactured. Imitation shrimp, scallop and crab meat products are also made from surimi. The Japanese word "surimi" literally means "minced meat". Minced meat is the separated and then comminuted fish muscles from bones, skin and entrails. However, surimi is more than minced meat. The two major distinguishing features are; Gel-forming capacity Long term stability by adding sugars as cryoprotectants Minced meat becomes raw or unfrozen surimi after it has been washed to remove fat and water-soluble constituents. Raw surimi is a soft structure since the flavor components are removed by the leaching process. By the process of washing isolates the myofibrillar protein from fish muscle. After mixing the raw surimi with anti-denaturants, it is called frozen surimi. These antidenaturants or the cryoprotectants are sugar compounds such as sucrose and sorbitol. If these are not used the gel forming ability will lost. Over 95% of all surimi produced are frozen using cryoprotectants.

Surimi manufacturing procedures for white-fleshed fish

Handling of raw material fish The methods used in handling the raw material fish prior to the mincing are crucial determinants of the quality of surimi. The success of the fish handling methods is judged according to whether or not the fish entering the meat separator are (1) Fresh (2) Clean The freshness in fish is a principal factor affecting gel forming capability and the deficiency in gel-forming capability resulting from lack of freshness in the raw material fish cannot be amended with a leaching process.

The best surimi is made on factory ships using very fresh fish and it undergoes more than two cycles of washing. There, the gel forming capacity is higher than land processed surimi and has gone several cycles of leaching. The recommendations for handling raw material fish delivery to the plant; (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) The fish must be stored in the (wooden) fish box surrounded by crushed ice The fish may be stored in a tiled circulating tank approximately 1 meter deep, filled with water and floating ice. The fish stored in the tank should not be piled higher than bout 50 to 60 cm from the tank floor. When stockpiling the fish in the open air, place the fish on a permeable mattress about 10 cm above the ground level. The fish may be piled about 50 cm high and covered with crushed ice, and the arrangement may be repeated to create layers of fish. Care must be taken not to allow the fish to freeze under any circumstances.

Meat separation Roll-type meat separator used to free the fish meat from bones, scales, fins and other larger impurities

Leaching Have three steps; (1) Mechanical Separation of Impurities (2) Washing -Dilutes blood, pigments, impurities in the minced meat (3) Leaching -leaches out water-soluble components of the muscle tissue

Freezing and cold storage The product is weighed into blocks of 10 kg (22 lbs.) each in polyethylene bags, and placed in freezer pans. Good freezing needs avoiding the formation of large ice crystals in the frozen surimi. For that freezing quickly or minimizing the exposing time to the critical temperatures can be done. The common freezer types are; Contact freezer Semi-air-blast freezer Air-blast Freezer The contact freezer is reported to be preferable.

Surimi based on dark-fleshed fish Sardine and Pacific mackerel have long been used as the raw material for some kuro-(black) hampen. However, these dark-fleshed fish have failed to get the consumer acceptance due to weak gel-strength, the dark color of the product, and their fishy aroma. There are four manufacturing processes 1. Japan surimi association (JSA) method 2. Jet method 3. Micronization method 4. Multiple recycle method The basic four steps used in manufacturing surimi from white-fleshed fish are used in these four methods as well. Only difference is the some-of intermediate steps used.

Quality standards

Source: Japan Frozen Foods Inspection Corporation

Fig. Surimi based other products Chikuwa Is a processed seafood product which is called Japanese fish tube. It has a rubbery texture and a salty, fishy flavor. The word chikuwa means bamboo ring, It can be eaten as a snack on its own or used in various soup and stir-fry recipes. It is also a popular edition to bento boxes, square Japanese lunch boxes that often contain rice, vegetables, and fish. To make the surimi that is used for chikuwa, a mix of inexpensive white fish, like Pollock, is ground into a smooth paste. Various flavorings are added to the paste. To create the shape, the fish paste is extruded into a mold that usually has either a metal or bamboo rod running through the middle to create a hollow tube. When the product is finished, it is often wrapped in plastic packages that have images of bamboo plants on them, making reference to the products name and shape. Chikuwa can be eaten directly from the package as a high-protein, low-fat treat. Sliced chikuwa can be added to some noodle dishes as an extra source of protein. The fish product can also be tossed into a stir fry. Vegetables, like steamed okra or julienned green bell peppers and carrots, can be stuffed into the chikuwa tubes and also be used as shells for anything that can be thinly sliced.

Imitation crab Also known as Asian fish paste. It is sold in chunks or sticks and is usually found in the fresh seafood section of most grocery stores. Imitation crab can be used in a variety of dishes from salads and stir-fries to dips and appetizers. Again, Pollock is most often the main fish ingredient used in preparing imitation crab meat. The fish is first skinned and boned and then minced, or cut into very small pieces. Then, rinsed before being formed into the paste of surimi. The finished surimi is shaped into chunks or tubes and cut into blocks or sticks. It is cooked to give it a texture closer to real crab meat and is coated with a reddish food coloring to give it an appearance closer to that of genuine crab meat. After cooked, mix with heated cream cheese and serve as a hot dip.

Hanpen Is a white, square, triangle or round shaped surimi product and it contain white fish and potato with a soft, mild taste. Another theory suggests that because it is triangle shaped and appears to have been cut in half from a square, it is a half (han) piece ( pen). It can be eaten as an ingredient in oden or soup. It can also be fried or broiled. In Shizuoka Prefecture, Honshu, whole sardines are used and the resulting product has a bluish-gray color. This is called Kuro Hanpen, literally "black hanpen".

Naruto (Japanese Fish Cakes) Is a traditional Japanese recipe for a classic fish cake made from pounded white fish fillets (e.g. Hake fish, anchovy) contain a coloured centre and which are steamed before cooling, slicing and serving. Remove the bones from the fish then chop finely. Wash under cold, running water, then place in a mortar and pound until creating a fine paste. Paste is washed in water again then set to drain in a fine-meshed sieve lined with cloth. The anchovies also pound in mortar until
6

become gelatinous. Resultant paste is divided into two portions and smaller portion is colored to pink with red using food coloring. Both pieces are kept in two plastic wraps and pat out into squares. Then smaller one is put in the center of the larger. Then the larger square is roll up into Swiss- roll fashion and steam for about 30 minutes. Allow to cool and chill in a refrigerator until consume. This can used to decorate soups, combine with cucumbers and avocados to make Naruto sushi.

Fibreized products Fibreized products are the greatest in demand among the surimi based imitation shellfish products. The ingredients used in the formulation of fibreized products includes, besides surimi, salt, starch, egg white, shellfish flavor, flavor enhancers and water. All the ingredients are thoroughly mixed and is ground to a paste. The paste is extruded in sheet on the conveyor belt and is heat treated using gas and steam for partial setting. A strip cutter subdivides the cooled sheet into strings and is passed through a rope corner. The rope is colored and shaped. The final product is formed by steam cooking the colored and shaped material Fish cutlets Fish cutlets are prepared using cooked fish mince, which is mixed with cooked potato, fried onion and species etc. It is then formed into the desired shape, each weighing approx. 40 g. The formed cutlets are battered, breaded and flash fried for 20 seconds Fish burgers More or less similar to fish cutlets, burgers are made out of mince of lean white fish. Cooked mince is mixed with cooked potato and mild spices and formed into round shapes. Burgers are battered, breaded and flash fried for 20 seconds.

Fish balls Fish balls are prepared using minced fish mixed with cornstarch salt and spices and formed into balls, 2-3 cm in diameter and cooked in boiling brine for 8-10 minutes. The balls can be further processed as a coated product by pre-dusting, battering and breading or as a heat processed product in a suitable fluid medium. Fish sausage Fish sausage is an analogue of sausage made from pork. The main ingredient is surimi or ground fish meat. The surimi is mixed with salt (3-4%), sugar (2-3%), sodium glutamate (0.3%) starch, and soy protein in a silent cutter. At the end of mixing, lard or shortening (510%), polyphosphate (0.2-0.3%) and flavorings are added and the minced meat is placed in a casing tube made from vinylidine chloride. Stuffing is done by an automatic screw stuffer. The casing tube is closed by metal rings. The tube is heated in hot water at 85-90C for 4060 min. After heating, it is cooled down slowly to avoid shrinking of the tube and then stored at refrigerated temperature. Minced fish can be used for the preparation of a number of products like fish sausage, cakes, cutlets, patties, balls, pastes, surimi, texturized products etc. The processes for the production of most of these products are available and some of them are very much suitable for starting small-scale industries.

References Sunee C. Sonu 1986, Surimi. NOAA Technical Memorandum. Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Terminal Island, California 9073 1 Sunee C. Sonu 2002, SURIMI SUPPLY, DEMAND, AND MARKET OF JAPAN. NOAA Technical Memorandum. Southwest Region, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Terminal Island, California 9073 1 http://www.celtnet.org.uk/recipes/miscellaneous/fetch-recipe.php?rid=misc-naruto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narutomaki