We used to or make snacks out of them for the holidays. But there are many other dishes in which this ingredient is put, and thanks to him. For example, fried soba noodles with crab sticks, as well as meatballs or croquettes. Look for recipes for these and more delicious meals in our material.
Grade
Ingredients for snacks should be tasty and natural, so we recommend using crab for cooking. VICI sticks. They are made according to a special Japanese technology - freshly caught fish is separated, washed, the fillets are crushed and a homogeneous white mass rich in protein is obtained - it is called surimi. It is worth noting that surimi has a very mild taste, similar to crab meat, so it is used to make crab sticks. Surimi is baked, rolled into a tube, pasteurized, then cooled and packaged. This product can be safely used for home culinary experiments, the results of which you will treat the whole family.
Meatballs with crab sticks
What we need:
250 g crab sticks
150 g hard cheese
1 egg
2 garlic cloves
½ cup breadcrumbs
lettuce
1. Frozen crab sticks grate or chop by hand into very small pieces.
2. Grate cheese on a coarse grater, chop garlic, mix with crab meat. Add the egg, mix with your hands and form small circles.
3. Fry meatballs in oil on both sides for 3 minutes. Serve hot with a green salad.
Pasta with crab sticks
What we need:
200 g crab sticks
1/2 pack of spaghetti
2 tbsp. butter spoons
2 garlic cloves
2 tbsp. spoons of flour
2 glasses of milk
200 g melted or cream cheese
greenery
salt
ground black pepper
How to cook a dish with crab sticks:
1. Boil spaghetti until tender.
2. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped garlic, fry for about a minute. Add flour, salt, pepper. Fry for a couple more minutes.
3. Pour milk into a saucepan, bring to a boil. Add sliced processed cheese, mix. Cook until cheese is completely melted.
4. Add crab meat, cook for another 3 minutes, add spaghetti, mix well and heat for a few minutes.
5. Arrange on plates and decorate the dish with herbs.
Croquettes with crab sticks
What we need:
350 g crab sticks
100 g smoked or salted fish
1 lemon
1 st. tablespoon finely chopped parsley leaves
1-2 tbsp. spoons of sour cream
4 tbsp. spoons of flour
1 egg
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 st. a spoonful of butter
250 ml vegetable oil for frying
150 ml mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves
How to cook a dish with crab sticks:
1. Cooking first garlic Sause. Grate the garlic on a fine grater and pour it with 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Leave for 10 minutes, then mix with mayonnaise.
2. Let's start the dish. Cut crab sticks and fish into pieces, chop with a blender or food processor. Grind into pieces, but do not turn into a homogeneous mass. Transfer to a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper, lemon zest, parsley and add sour cream.
3. Divide into approximately 8 portions, shape into oval croquettes. Transfer to a board and refrigerate for an hour.
4. Pour flour into a plate and season with salt and pepper. Beat the egg separately. breadcrumbs pour into a bowl. Roll the croquettes one at a time in the flour, then in the egg and then in the crumbs.
5. In a small saucepan over low heat, heat a mixture of butter and vegetable oil well. Fry the croquettes in small portions for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown from all sides. Dry on paper towels and serve with garlic sauce.
Shanghai style fried rice with crab
What we need:
200 g crab sticks
1 cup basmati rice
2 tbsp. spoons of soy sauce
100 g ice cream peas
3 s. tablespoons of vegetable oil
150 g soy sprouts
3 green onion stalks
2 garlic cloves
200 g cooked smoked ham
2 eggs
1 st. the spoon rice wine or dry sherry
black pepper
How to cook a dish with crab sticks:
1. Rinse the rice well, put in a saucepan with 3 cups of boiling water, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Remove from heat, open lid for a few seconds to release steam, cover again.
2. Lower the peas for 3 minutes. into boiling water, discard in a colander and pour over cold water. Mince the garlic. Onion cut into rings. Disassemble the crab sticks into fibers. cut ham small cubes. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan, fry the garlic and green onion for about 30 seconds. Add crabmeat and cook over high heat for 1 minute. Remove from fire and set aside.
3. Whisk the eggs with soy sauce and wine.
4. Reheat the remaining vegetable oil, put the cubes of ham, pour in the eggs and cook, stirring constantly for about 2 minutes.
5. Add crab meat, peas and soy sprouts, cook, stirring continuously for 1 minute. Pour in the broth and cook for 2 minutes.
6. Put rice in the pan, mix and immediately remove from heat. Pepper to taste.
Stir fry with soba noodles and crab sticks
What we need:
200g crab sticks
80 g soba noodles
1 carrot
2 shallots
2 bell peppers
4 tbsp. spoons of oyster sauce
2 tbsp. tablespoons of peanut butter
2 tbsp. tablespoons of sesame oil
2 tbsp. spoons of sesame seeds
4 garlic cloves
a bunch of green onions
grated ginger
soy sauce
salt
ground black pepper
How to cook a dish with crab sticks:
1. Boil the soba noodles in advance according to the instructions on the package.
2. Peel and cut peppers and carrots into long strips.
3. Disassemble the crab sticks into fibers. Shallot cut into strips.
4. Finely chop the garlic, chop the green onion into feathers.
5. In a well-heated deep frying pan with peanut butter, put carrots, peppers, fry for about 2-3 minutes, then add shallots, garlic, ginger, crab and crab sticks. Reduce heat and sauté for about 1-2 more minutes. Then add oyster sauce, mix well.
6. Cook the dish for 3-4 minutes. Add sesame oil, mix with boiled soba noodles and sprinkle with green onions.
7. Season with soy sauce to taste. Serve sprinkled with sesame seeds.
Despite the availability and low cost of crab sticks, there are numerous recipes for this product, and it must be admitted that they are very attractive and, most importantly, delicious. Most simple recipes- This great amount salads with crab sticks. For example, the familiar salad with crab sticks and corn. Not a single modern feast can do without it. But dishes from crab sticks are not limited to salads. There are very interesting recipes Judge for yourself: crab stick roll, stuffed crab sticks, crab stick cutlets, fried crab sticks, crab stick tartlets, battered crab sticks, etc.
Due to their original and not very bright taste, crab sticks go well with most products, which allows culinary specialists to invent even more actively. various dishes. For example, crab sticks with cheese, pita bread with crab sticks, tomatoes with crab sticks, rice with crab sticks, squid with crab sticks and others have appeared.
Everyone knows that there is no crab meat in crab sticks. But they are so skillfully prepared from minced fish surimi, and at the same time they turn out so appetizing that they deservedly received the name. Delicious crab sticks have become the basis of many dishes due to their ease of use in cooking and excellent taste. Crab stick appetizer is an excellent quick and original solution for any table. Crab sticks do not need heat treatment however, some recipes call for frying them. Crab sticks in batter or just fried crab sticks are proof of this, and they turn out great.
Try for yourself how quickly and easily you can cook any dish of crab sticks. The recipes for these dishes are varied and numerous. For example, cook any salad with crab sticks, you can come up with a recipe yourself, since this product responds to any culinary innovations. And one more thing: take a look at the photos of crab stick dishes. Their photos are so colorful and appetizing that it is impossible to pass by these recipes.
The main advice if you cook crab sticks is that the recipe with a photo should become your guide in the kitchen;
High-quality sticks easily unfold into leaves, do not crumple or tear, even slightly springy;
Buy crab sticks from well-known large manufacturers, they do not use artificial dyes and are as natural as possible, and therefore useful composition components;
Crab stick dishes are served with sparkling and dry white wines;
calories natural product does not exceed one hundred calories per hundred grams of crab sticks, so dishes from them are considered dietary;
If among the composition of the components on the packaging of the sticks “surimi” does not appear at all, then you must understand that these crab sticks are made from soy protein or starch. You will not be poisoned by them, but there is no special benefit there, and their taste will cause you conflicting feelings;
Take a look at the shape of the sticks: if they are wrinkled or cracked, then the technology was most likely violated during their production, or they were stored incorrectly;
Do not be lazy to check the expiration dates and storage conditions. Chilled sticks are stored at temperatures from minus 1 to plus 5 degrees.
Crab sticks have become a truly national product as soon as they appeared on the shelves of our stores. Salads with them even supplanted for some time the famous Olivier and Fur Coats with holiday tables. But, despite this, some housewives have a question whether it is necessary to cook crab sticks for salad and other dishes, and if necessary, how to do it correctly.
Let's try to understand this issue.
Do I need to cook crab sticks for salad
Crab sticks - in fact, they are an imitation of crab meat. This product is made from processed fish protein - that same mysterious word "surimi" on all packages of crab sticks, as well as minced meat of the most inexpensive white fish. The color of the product is given by food coloring. The production process involves several stages of processing and preparation, giving out the final result of a product that is ready for use.
Crab sticks do not need to be cooked additionally. They are completely ready for use. If you bought frozen sticks, then you just need to defrost them.
Do I need to cook crab sticks for stuffing
Some types of crab sticks unwind very well. Smart cooks took advantage of this property and came up with many recipes where some kind of filling is wrapped in an unfolded crab stick. But not all sticks turn out to be neatly unfolded even in a well-thawed form. Such species should be dipped in salted boiling water for several minutes.
Crab sticks in Russia fell in love almost immediately. Most likely, the main role here was played by the fact that they can be cooked quickly: after all, this is not even a semi-finished product, but a completely ready-to-eat product.
Mostly, salads are prepared from crab sticks - and our housewives liked to cook salads back in “Soviet” times, and with whole basins, but there are many other dishes that are also prepared quickly and taste good. Of course, the name of the product, “crab” sticks, also had a certain impact on consumers, but it was like that at the very beginning.
What are "crab sticks"
Now it is already clear to everyone that crabs have absolutely nothing to do with it, but they have already got used to the product, learned how to cook many delicious dishes, especially since the price of sticks is low and the shelf life is long. After all, we are used to eating sausage without meat, so why not eat crab sticks without crabs?
Crab sticks are sold today in any store, and although not all buyers look at the composition of this product when buying, still many people have doubts and questions. Consumers are interested in what crab sticks are made of, whether their use is harmful, and of course, which manufacturers' products should be bought and which ones should be discarded. Learn about nutritional value crab sticks is possible, if you still look at the back of the package - and absolutely everything should be listed there.
History of crab sticks
Who and when invented crab sticks? Of course, the Japanese did it - after all, they always come up with a lot of new and interesting things, and then the whole world uses it and wonders: wow! Crab sticks, in general, were invented by the Japanese a long time ago, at the beginning of the 12th century. More precisely, then the Japanese began to make white minced meat from fish, calling it “surimi”.
The then semi-finished products were prepared from surimi: koloboks, sausages, etc. These products were then fried, boiled or baked using their own, Japanese seasonings. Most of all, the people loved "kamaboko" - dense fish balls.
Time passed, and the Japanese began to try to export this product, but the market did not accept it. In Western countries, it has been said that surimi balls are like soap-flavored rubber, and even dogs won't eat them.
And so, in the 70s of the XX century, everything quickly changed, and dramatically: the product from surimi became loved by consumers of the entire civilized world. What is the secret of such phenomenal success?
The fact is that it was at this time in the food industry different countries began to be widely used nutritional supplements: dyes, flavors, flavor enhancers and other fruits of scientific achievements. And then the surimi product, previously understood only by the Japanese, turned into exotic “crab” sticks for consumers in many countries - an imitation crab meat. In America, Europe and Russia, crab sticks are especially popular, but in Japan everything is calm, as before - of all products made from surimi, crab sticks account for only 10%.
Probably, in the 12th century, much better quality fish was used to make surimi, and it was certainly environmentally friendly. However, today surimi is not made from the best the best views fish: usually haddock, blue whiting, pollock, hake, perch and other white fish. The fish fillet is washed, ground, and then, to remove excess moisture, it is passed through a centrifuge.
It turns out a light mass, to which salt, sugar and starch are added - this is surimi. I must say that Russian food industry enterprises rarely cook surimi themselves: they buy it abroad - in Canada, the USA, Argentina and other countries, and crab sticks are cooked on the spot.
Many other ingredients are added to surimi: vegetable oil, vegetable and egg white, purified water, starch, stabilizers, flavorings, thickeners, flavor enhancers, colorants - for example, carrageenan or carmine, so that the sticks have an attractive red color. It turns out that only 45% of minced fish remains in the product - at best, since usually there is no more than 25% of it, which is considered a completely normal ratio. The product packaging does not indicate the percentage of ingredients at all, but you still need to read the composition. Today, consumers already know that the ingredients that appear first on the list make up the bulk of the product, so if the word "surimi" is first, then the sticks are of acceptable quality and they can be bought.
If this word is in second place, the amount of fish in the product is minimized, and when it is not on the list, then there is no fish at all, but there is only starch, soy protein and various substitutes. Such sticks are hardly worth buying, of course, if you are not completely indifferent to what you eat.
As for the amount of food additives, there is no getting away from them - there are simply no crab sticks without them. Another thing is that in Russia those harmful additives, which have long been banned in countries that care about the health of their citizens. Additives such as E450, E420, E160, E171, which can cause allergies and chronic diseases, have long been banned in the EU countries, and they are actively used in our country.
Many manufacturers and even experts try to convince the consumer that chemical additives in a small amount will not harm health. Perhaps, if you do not take into account that we constantly buy products in our stores, in which there are more than enough such substances, and crab sticks are added to almost all salads, replacing other ingredients with them - because it turns out cheaper.
In any case, the purchase decision is made by the consumer, but there is one more thing to remember. The microbiological contamination of the product is much more dangerous than the content of "chemistry" in it, especially since crab sticks are most often not subjected to heat treatment before use. So it's better to buy products from well-known manufacturers in vacuum packaging than cheaper options by weight.
How to choose crab sticks
What crab sticks are worth buying? Of course, you need to pay attention to appearance: sticks should be neat and beautiful, look appetizing, be juicy and elastic, similar to crab meat. Dry, frozen and devoid of elasticity sticks are not worthy of attention, like those sold from the freezer, where the temperature is below -18 ° C, as they taste qualities and all the more any value is completely lost.
You can not freeze crab sticks again: such a product can be determined by the presence of ice and snow in the package, and also refuse to buy. The sticks should be evenly and neatly colored on one side, and all information about the manufacturer, expiration date and storage conditions should be written on the package.
Crab sticks: harm or benefit
Think crab sticks useful product not worth it: all vitamins, minerals and healthy fats disappear when cooking surimi, only fish protein remains. And yet, their dishes remain popular. One of these dishes is crab sticks “under a fur coat” (although usually herring is cooked “under a fur coat”).
It is necessary to hard-boil 5-6 eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Grate the whites and lay in an even layer in a deep plate, lay finely chopped onion on top and processed cheese, grated on a fine grater. grated butter(50 g) lay on the cheese, and cover with a layer of light mayonnaise on top. Cut the sticks into thin circles, and then unfold to make “noodles”, and lay them on the mayonnaise in an even layer. Top - grated green apple, another layer of mayonnaise and grated egg yolk.
Crab sticks and children
And about something else.
Some parents are very pleased when their young children eat crab sticks just like that, for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and even love them more than sweets. It is known that the child's body is more susceptible to "chemistry", and gets used to it faster, so it turns out something like a food addiction. This applies not only to crab sticks, but also to all products that contain chemical food additives.
Parents believe that if pediatricians do not specifically warn them about this, then there is nothing to fear. It is worth remembering that doctors are mainly engaged in the treatment of diseases, but parents should deal with the health of children. So it’s better for adults to eat crab sticks themselves if they want, and for kids to cook dishes from real fresh fish.
Expert - Andrey Mosov, Head of the Roskontrol Expert Direction.
Is there crab in crab sticks?
No. Both sticks and crab meat in packs are just imitations of it. This can be understood immediately by the price. A standard package of crab sticks (200-250 g) is sold from 40 rubles. And the same amount of real crab meat - from 900 rubles. The main ingredient of the sticks is minced surimi, the content of which is from 25 to 60%. Together with it, the composition contains water, starch, vegetable oil, egg white, salt, sugar and natural or identical food additives (thickeners, flavors, dyes, flavor enhancers).
Surimi itself is prepared from white fish with a minimum fat content: mackerel, pollock, hake, blue whiting. In fact, surimi is a concentrated protein from fish meat, obtained from fresh fillets, cleaned of blood, fat and enzymes.
How more mince, the better the texture and taste of the sticks. On the packaging of the correct crab sticks, it must be written that this is an “imitation”.
How are they prepared?
White fish fillets are crushed and washed for a long time under cold water - until only undissolved proteins remain. Further, all moisture is removed from this mass. The output is a tasteless mass, to which salt, spices and sugar are added. As well as preservatives sorbic acid- E420, pyrophosphates - E450), glutamic acid, phosphates, carrageenan thickener - otherwise the product will not be stored. After that, red stripes are created on the meat using dyes E160c (paprika extract) or E120 (carmine or cochineal extracted from insects). They can also add a special bleach to make the meat look more attractive, titanium dioxide. By the way, E120 can cause allergies in some consumers.
After painting, crab sticks pass through the hob, the temperature of which reaches 100 ˚C.
How much can be stored?
After opening the package, the sticks live in the refrigerator for a maximum of 24 hours. In fact, the expiration date crab salad with mayonnaise does not exceed a day. Then you can get poisoned.
Is there any benefit?
Yes. They contain sodium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, zinc, iodine. Moreover, crab sticks are rich in vitamins B₁ and B₂. Surimi contains methionine, which improves the process of wound healing and has a positive effect on fat metabolism. Crab sticks are low-calorie - they contain no more than 100 kcal per 100 g of product. Approximate protein content - 6 g, carbohydrates - 10 g. But they cannot be considered an equivalent replacement for fish in the diet due to the large number of additives.
Impurities that are added to crab sticks are less useful: egg powder increases the proportion of protein in the product, and starch allows you to increase the volume and elasticity of crab sticks.
Do you need to boil before eating?
No. This is a ready to use product. Additional heat treatment can spoil the taste, because the sticks have already gone through it before.
Is crab meat safe?
A recent examination (see table) of crab meat showed that in all tested samples of popular brands (Vici, Russian Sea, Meridian / Snow Crab, Santa Bremor, D (Dixie) in one or another To a lesser extent, there are food additives such as dyes (carmines, paprika extract), stabilizers (sodium polyphosphate, E450, E452), emulsifier (E471), flavor enhancers (monosodium glutamate) and a water-retaining agent (polyphosphate).
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The results of the examination of crab meat |
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|---|---|
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It has unreliable labeling of nutritional values: the estimated carbohydrate content in the sample is 60% more than indicated in the labeling. |
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"Meridian/ |
Mislabeled for protein, fat and carbohydrate content. |
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Crab meat |
The highest indicators of the biological usefulness of the protein (compared to other tested samples). Mislabeled for fat content. |
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Crab meat |
Facts of unreliable labeling were not revealed. |
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Mislabeled for fat content. |
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All products are safe, but in some cases they have drawbacks.
Provided by NP "Roskontrol"
The product that received the lowest rating from the organization.
But at the same time, all samples, according to the examination, are safe in terms of microbiological indicators.
The presence of these additives does not mean that the manufacturer has violated the law. But experts are convinced: the less additives in the product, the better it is. In addition, the choice "by composition" depends on how important the presence or absence of these ingredients is for the manufacturer.
