Dried octopus
A whole octopus butterflied and sun-dried flat, sold rigid and deep amber, often toasted briefly before use. Soaked and cut into pieces, it slowly releases a sweet, deeply savoury flavour that rounds out long-boiled soups. It is the classic partner to lotus root and peanuts, and to mung beans and papaya.
TCM properties
Nature · neutral Flavour · sweet、salty Meridians · spleen、kidney
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy it is used to replenish qi and blood, and folk tradition pairs it into soups for nursing mothers to encourage milk flow.
Cautions: read first
- High in purines, so go carefully if you have gout
- High in sodium
- Avoid if you are allergic to seafood
- Traditionally counted as a stirring food (發物), one said to aggravate existing conditions
Preparation
Soak until soft (30 minutes to 1 hour) and cut it into pieces with scissors; you can toast it in a dry wok (白鑊) for extra fragrance.
Origin
The Guangdong coast (around Zhanjiang); Hong Kong also sun-dries its own. The Australian stock seen at dried-seafood shops is Hong Kong origin
Availability in Australia
Herbal shops / specialists
