First thing first, Don’t judge the book by it’s cover. If you’re not asian or especially chinese descent, you would say What the fu*k is that “familiar” thing???, well it’s a sea cucumber. Sea cucumbers are marine echinoderms . Sea cucumber is considered as delicacy and used for human consumption from ancient times. The harvested product is variously referred to as Teripang in Indonesia, Gamat in Malaysia and Haisom, Hoisom (Haysem) in Mandarine. Hai means sea and som means ginseng. Haisom or sea cucumber is considered as a nutritious food from the the sea in Chinese descent community. Dont get hesitate to purchase the dried sea cucumber in chinese store because this ugly looking creatures is can shocked you for it’s price. Mine was about 200 USD for a kilos of gamma (prickly sea cucumber). Despite the pricey price tag, sea cucumber or haisom is actually taste bland and had a chewy and jelly like texture. Ths is pricey due to health benefits and i guess you’ll gonna dissapointed if you espected such a gourmet ingredients.But the sea cucumber can well absorb the flavour and seasoning surround it. That’s why sea cucumber is usually cooked in superior stock/broth.
Sea cucumbers are made by drying fresh sea cucumbers. It can be divided into 3 major categories : Prickly sea cucumber), bald Sea cucumber and White teat sea cucumber. They are a kind of sea food that is of high nutritious value. Though they live in the sea, the sea cucumber is of a warm-tonifying nature. Similar to ginseng in this regard, they are called Haisom (Haysem) hai means sea and som means ginseng. Haisom or sea cucumber is considered as a nutritious food from the the sea in Chinese descent community. Sea Cucumbers are a type of high-protein, low-fat, and low-cholesterol seafood. They have essence-replenishing, blood-nourishing, skin-moistening, complexion-beautifying, and anti-aging properties. In particular, they are beneficial to elderly people.
Preparing dried sea cucumber need a little patient since it takes several steps. You mave to make sure that the container for soaking and boiling sea cucumber is free from debris, especially oil and rice. Oil and rice that contaminate the sea cucumber will make it dissolved in the brining water. Do not add salt when you prepare dried sea cucumber and make sure that your hand is clean hen handling this pricey stuff. When you cut open the stomach or peritoneum, make sure you did’t break the peritoneum too or it will be ruined too. Cut open the sea cucumber stomach after soaked for about 1-2 days depent on your sea cucumber size. Discard any internal organ and brushed any sand and debris from the cavity. After boiled then simmered few minutes, the sea cucumber let cooled n the water and then refrigerate overnight. This process is repeated several days until the sea cucumber is soft enought to cook. Dried sea cucumber is usually can enlarged about 4-6 times it’s dried weight.
How to prepare, soak and clean dried sea cucumber:
- Soak the sea cucumbers in water for about 1-2 days until soften (depending on their sizes) and changes the water daily
- Put the sea cucumber in boiling water and boil for about 10 minutes , simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Turn off the heat, cover the pan, and allow the water to cool down.
- Put the sea cucumber in a container with fully submerged in the water and refrigerated
- In the next day, remove the sea cucumbers from the water and cut them open to remove internal organs and impurities( sand, rock etc).
- Rinse them in running water and boil again for about 10 minutes ,then simmer for about 30 minutes.
- Repeat this proccess several days later until the sea cucumber is soft enought to cook
- If you not use the sea cucumber directly, seal the soaked haisom or rehydrated sea cucumber and put it in the freezer.
You can use the soaked sea cucumber in Buddha Jump Over The Wall Soup (Shark Fin Soup/Buddha’s Delight) ala Dentist Chef