Sea cucumber | |||||||||||||||
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Chinese name | |||||||||||||||
Traditional Chinese | 海參 | ||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 海参 | ||||||||||||||
Hanyu Pinyin | hǎishēn | ||||||||||||||
Jyutping | hoi2 sam1 | ||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | sea ginseng | ||||||||||||||
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Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||
Vietnamese | hải sâm | ||||||||||||||
Korean name | |||||||||||||||
Hangul | 해삼 | ||||||||||||||
Hanja | 海蔘 | ||||||||||||||
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Sea cucumbers are marine animals of the class Holothuroidea. They can be used as food, in fresh or dried form, in various cuisines. In some cultural contexts the sea cucumber is thought to have medicinal value.
The creature and the food product are commonly known as bêche-de-mer in French, from Portuguese bicho do mar (literally "sea animal"), espardenya in Catalan,[1] trepang (or trīpang) in Indonesian, namako in Japanese, balatan in Tagalog, loli in Hawaiian and deniz patlıcanı (sea aubergine) in Turkish. In Malay, it is known as the gamat.[2]
Most cultures in East and Southeast Asia regard sea cucumbers as a delicacy. A number of dishes are made with sea cucumber, and in most dishes it has a slippery texture. Common ingredients that go with sea cucumber dishes include winter melon, conpoy, kai-lan, shiitake mushroom, and Chinese cabbage.
Many sea cucumber species are endangered and are at risk of overfishing due to their consumption.