Surimi is a processed fish product made from frozen minced fish, primarily Alaskan pollock, that is used to create a variety of seafood products like kamaboko and fish sausages. The surimi production process involves washing, deboning, and adding cryoprotective agents to preserve its texture during freezing. Specialty products derived from surimi, including fish balls, fish fingers, and katsuobushi, have significant market potential in Bangladesh due to the availability of raw materials and consumer demand.

1. Surimi and value-added
fishery products

2. • Surimi is a Japanese term for frozen minced fish that has
undergone a washing process.
• It is made from fresh raw fish meat that has been
leached by washing with water and thoroughly mixed
with sugar and polyphosphate.
• Sugar serves as a cryoprotective agent added to reduce
freeze denaturation of minced fish during freezing and
storage.
• The polyphosphate acts as a water-binding agent.
• Surimi is a mechanically deboned, washed (bleached),
refined and stabilized fish flesh.
• It is an intermediate product used in the preparation of a
variety of ready to eat seafood such as Kamaboko, fish
sausage, crab legs and imitation shrimp products.
Surimi

3. Selection of Suitable Species for
surimi and surimi-based products
Ideally, the criteria for the fish used as raw material in
the production of surimi are that they should -
• be of low-value,
• be white-fleshed
• excellent gelling ability and
• be abundant and available all year-round.
At present, Alaskan Pollack (Theragra
chalcogramma) accounts for a large proportion of
the surimi supply.
Other species, such as sardine, mackerel,
barracuda, and striped mullet have been
successfully used for surimi production.

4. Making minced fish block from pelagic fishes like
sardine and mackerel is more difficult than lean
fishes, because of high fat content and weak
binding ability of meat.
The most difficult points in minced and surimi
processing from small pelagic fishes are
(i) high fat content,
(ii) instability of muscle proteins,
(iii)large amount of sarcoplasmic proteins, and
(iv) high proportion of dark to ordinary muscles.
The gel forming ability of fish for processing of
surimi also varies greatly from fish to fish, and
depending on temperature conditions.

5. Preparation of Surimi
Beheaded, eviscerated and skinned
Washing with cleaned chilled water
Filleting by knife
Deboning
Mincing
Washing
Fish
0.1%Nacl solution, for 5-
8min,

6. Pressing
Final pressing by screw-press to adjust water level at (75-78) %
Screening (to separate skin bone if exist in washed and sieved minced)
Frozen storage at -250 C temp.
Master packing
Freezing (contact plate freezer at -400 C temp. for 2 days)
Packing (20 kg block flat)
Shaping
Adding caryoprotcetive (Sugar 4% +Sorbitol 4% +Polyphosphate 0.2%)

7. Surimi products: kamaboko, chikuwa,
agemono, crab meat analog, shrimp analog
and other fabricated products
Chikuwa
Kamaboko
Surimi based products
crab meat analog

8. Kamaboko
• Kamaboko is a traditional Japanese product
similar to a sausage without casing. It can be
made to various recipes according to regional
preferences, fish species, additives, and other
ingredients.

9. Chikuwa
• Chikuwa can be distinguished from by its hollow,
cylindrical shape. It is produced by broiling surimi
mixed with seasonings and other ingredients.
Good chikuwa is white inside with a brown
surface.
• Chikuwa is made by moulding the surimi mixture
round a brass tube, or a piece of bamboo, and
then broiling

10. Fish ham
• Fish ham is made from Alaska Pollack surimi and tuna;
non-fish meat can also be included.
• Salt, sugar, chemical flavorings, spices and a smoky
flavoring are added to the surimi and the mixture is allowed
to cure for a day or two in a cold atmosphere.
• The cured mass is mixed with additional quantity of surimi,
starch and soy protein and ground to a fine paste.
• The paste is sealed in PVC casings and is heated in water at
85-950C for 40-60 minutes and frozen after cooling.
• If the product is intended for marketing fresh, it will be
streamed for 4 minutes at 1200C.

11. Specialty products: fish sausage, fish ball,
fish stick, fish finger, fish burger and
Katsoubushi
Fish sausage Fish Ball Fish finger
Fish stick KatsuobushiFish burger

12. Fish Sausage:
• Fish sausage is identical to pork sausage. Surimi
is mixed with salt, sugar, sodium glutamate and
soy protein in a definite ratio in a silent cutter.
• The paste was stuffed into PVC casting tubes
using automatic screw stuffer.
• After heating it is slowly cooled to avoid shrinking
of the tube and dried.

13. Fish Ball:
• Fish ball is a very popular product among surimi
based products. Surimi is ground together with
salt and some other ingredients. Surimi paste is
formed into round shape. These pieces are flash
fried in oil at 2000C. After cooling the fish ball is
frozen and stored.`

14. Fish Finger:
• Fish finger is a very popular product made from mince.
• The mince is mixed with 1% salt made into rectangular
slabs and frozen. The frozen mince is cut into suitable
uniform sizes.
• These pieces are given a coating of butter followed by
breading. The battered and breaded fish fingers are flesh
fried in oil maintained at 180-2000C for about 20 seconds.
• Fish fingers also known as fish sticks in North America, are
a processed food made using a white fish such as cod,
haddock or pollock which have been battered or breaded.
In addition to white fish, fish fingers are sometimes made
with salmon.

15. Fish Stick:
• Fish stick is mainly prepared from fish in the form
of stick. Stick is prepared from flake dorsal or
abdominal muscle where the flaked duffer from in
test from one another as they are not washed. It
is tasteful item differs from fish ball, fish burger,
fish finger etc.

16. Katsuobushi:
• Japanese name for a preparation of dried, fermented, and
smoked skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis, sometimes
referred to as bonito). Katsuobushi and kombu (a type of
kelp) are the main ingredients of dashi, a broth that forms
the basis of many soups (such as miso soup) and sauces
(e.g., soba no tsukejiru) in Japanese cuisine. It is today
typically found in bags of small pink-brown shavings.
Larger, thicker shavings, called kezurikatsuo, are used to
make the ubiquitous dashi stock. Smaller, thinner shavings,
called hanakatsuo, are used as a flavoring and topping for
many Japanese dishes, such as okonomiyaki.

17. Prospects of specialty products
in Bangladesh:
• Available species/Raw materials
• Regular supply of raw materials
• Suitability of temperature
• Better storage condition
• Transportation facilities
• Intended consumers in huge amount
• Demand in market