How Surimi Is Made
From a fish caught in the Bering Sea to a striped stick in your kani salad — the whole process, step by step.
Surimi production happens in two stages, often on different continents: first the fish becomes frozen surimi paste (frequently aboard factory ships within hours of the catch), then a secondary plant turns that paste into crab sticks and other products.
Stage 1: Fish to frozen surimi
1. Heading, gutting, and mincing
Alaska pollock is filleted mechanically and the flesh is pressed through a fine screen, producing a coarse mince free of skin and bone.
2. Washing — the defining step
The mince is rinsed in several cycles of cold water. Washing removes fat, blood, enzymes, and water-soluble proteins, leaving concentrated myofibrillar protein. This is why surimi is nearly flavorless and odorless — and why it gels so well when cooked. More washing cycles produce whiter, stronger, higher-grade surimi.
3. Refining and dewatering
A refiner strains out any remaining connective tissue; a screw press squeezes the washed mince to the right moisture level.
4. Cryoprotectants and freezing
Raw fish protein is destroyed by freezing, so producers blend in about 4–8% sugar and sorbitol plus a little phosphate. These “cryoprotectants” shield the protein in the freezer — and they're the reason imitation crab tastes slightly sweet and contains added sugar. The paste is pressed into 10 kg blocks and frozen to −20 °C. Graded from SA (whitest, strongest gel) down to B, these blocks are the global raw material.
Stage 2: Surimi to crab stick
5. Blending
Thawed surimi is kneaded with salt (which unlocks the gelling proteins), starch, egg white, a little oil, sugar, crab extract or flavoring, and water. Recipes vary by brand — this is where a premium stick and a bargain stick part ways.
6. Sheet extrusion and cooking
The paste is extruded as a thin continuous sheet onto a heated belt, which sets it into a flexible cooked ribbon.
7. Slitting and rope forming
Rollers cut the sheet into fine parallel strands, then bundle and roll them into a rope. Those strands are what let you pull a crab stick apart into realistic “crab” fibers — the most clever trick in the whole process.
8. Coloring, wrapping, and pasteurizing
A thin outer layer of paste tinted with paprika, carmine, or lycopene is applied, the rope is wrapped in film, cut to length, steam-pasteurized, chilled, and vacuum-packed. The result is fully cooked and ready to eat straight from the package.
Flake, stick, leg, and shred styles
Same paste, different shaping: sticks (best for snacking and bento), flake/chunk style (pre-shredded, best for salads and dips), and leg style (long tapered pieces for sushi rolls). Our brand guide notes which style each product uses.
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