Dried Octopus (Zhang Yu Gan)
豚肉の親友！真っ赤なスープを生み出す「広東の干しダコ」
Description
Octopus (Zhang Yu) opened, gutted, and sun-dried rock-hard. Used for broth in JP too, but in Southern China (esp. Guangdong) soup (Lao Huo Tang) making, it's used daily as the 'ultimate booster ingredient' to double pork umami. Braising dyes the soup a beautiful reddish-brown (color of octopus skin).
Classification: Everyone, Ingredient, Dry Goods, Zhang Yu, Octopus, For Braising, For Soup, Guangdong Cuisine, Broth
Shops selling Dried Octopus (Zhang Yu Gan)
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The How to use section below is a general reference, not instructions from the listed shops.
How to use
Ingredients
- Octopus
- Salt
Instructions
- [Typical Uses]
- [Lian Ou Zhang Yu Pai Gu Tang (Lotus Root, Octopus & Rib Soup)]: Cut rehydrated octopus with scissors, simmer in a claypot for hours with pork spareribs and lotus root. The premium soup Cantonese people think of first as 'mom's home cooking'.
- Mix into Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou).
Learn more Substitutes, pairings, tips
Key spices
Sweeter than Surume; thick ocean broth exploding with taurine and amino acids. Chewing offers a 'dense' strong bounce
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Substitute with JP 'Dried Octopus' (for octopus rice etc.) or 'Surume' (Dried Squid)
Pairing
Pork Spareribs / Lotus Root / Winter Melon
Trivia
In Cantonese soup philosophy, 'Pork alone is flat. Adding 'sea dry goods (octopus/squid)' completes a three-dimensional, perfect soup'.
Eating tips & etiquette
Sold laid flat with legs spread like aliens in Asian stores. Before use, soak in water for hours, or pros 'roast the surface briefly over open flame (to bloom aroma)' before adding to soup.
Allergen
None