Sea cucumbers as food

Sea cucumbers destined for food are traditionally harvested by hand from small watercraft, a process called "trepanging" after the Indonesian Malay word for sea cucumber . They are dried for preservation, and must be rehydrated by boiling and soaking in water for several days. They are mainly used as an ingredient in Chinese cuisine soups and stews. Many commercially important species of sea cucumber are harvested and dried for export for use in Chinese cuisine as (). Some of the more commonly found species in markets include: sea cucumber with mushroom • Holothuria edulis (Pinkfish, or common edible sea cucumber, or the pink and black sea cucumber) • Holothuria scabra (sandfish) • Holothuria arguinensis • Holothuria spinifera (brown sandfish) • Holothuria fuscogilva (bat susu, white teatfish) • Holothuria nobilis (black teatfish) • Actinopyga mauritiana (spiny sea cucumber) • Apostichopus japonicus (Japanese sea cucumber) • Parastichopus californicus (giant California sea cucumber) • Parastichopus regalis (royal sea cucumber, or espardenya) • Acaudina molpadioides Western Australia has sea cucumber fisheries from Exmouth to the border of the Northern Territory; almost all of the catch is sandfish (Holothuria scabra). The fishing of the various species known as is regulated by state and federal legislation. Five other species are targeted in the state's bêche-de-mer harvest, these are Holothuria nobilis (black teatfish), Holothuria whitmaei (black fish), Thelenota ananas (prickly redfish), Actinopyga echninitis (deep-water redfish), and Holothuria atra (lolly fish). In the far north of Queensland, Australia, sea cucumber are harvested from the Great Barrier Reef and the Coral Sea. Targeted species include Holothuria noblis (white teatfish), Holothuria whitmaei (black teatfish) and H. scabra (sand fish). Divers are supplied air via hose or "hookah" from the surface and collect their catch by hand, diving to depths of up to 40 m. ==Market==

emporium in Yokohama, Japan From the 17th or 18th century CE onwards, traders from Sulawesi established extensive seasonal trade links with the Indigenous peoples of the Kimberley region, the modern-day Northern Territory, and Arnhem Land. Of the 650 species of sea cucumbers, just 10 species have commercial value. In Japan, sea cucumber is also eaten raw, as or , and its intestine is also eaten as , which is salted and fermented food (a variety of ). The dried ovary of sea cucumber is also eaten, which is called () or (). It is also considered a delicacy in the northwestern Mediterranean, particularly in Catalan cuisine, often as an ingredient in rice dishes. Sea cucumbers are considered non-kosher in Jewish dietary law, since they lack scales. ==Culinary use==

Both a fresh form and a dried form are used for cooking, though its preparation is complex due to its taste being entirely "tasteless and bland". In the Suiyuan shidan, the Chinese Qing Dynasty manual of gastronomy, it is stated: "As an ingredient, sea cucumbers have little to no taste, are full of sand, and are fishy in smell. For these reasons, it is also the most difficult ingredient to prepare well." (海參，無味之物，沙多氣腥，最難討好。) Much of the preparation of sea cucumber goes into cleaning and boiling it, then stewing it in meat broths and extracts to infuse each sea cucumber with flavour. In Chinese medicine, sea cucumber is considered useful for treating tendonitis and arthritis, along with functioning as an aphrodisiac, among other claims. Gamat has also been traditionally used by Malays for wound healing, painkilling, and the treatment of stomach ulcers. Following campaigns encouraging people to avoid shark fin soup, sea cucumber has become an increasingly popular replacement in China. File:Seacucumbercuisine.jpg | Cooked sea cucumber File:Sea cucumber dish 2.jpg | Sea cucumber dish File:Sea cucumber dish 3.jpg | Fried sea cucumber File:Braised Guandong Sea Cucumber with Scallion in Sauce.jpg| Braised sea cucumber File:Sea cucumber dish.jpg | Braised sea cucumber with mushrooms, pork, and tea eggs File:Sea cucumber rice roll.jpg | Sea cucumber rice roll File:Sea Cucumber with Scallions.jpeg | Sea cucumber with scallions, a famous Shandong dish ==See also==