It is often confused with siu mei, but it is not siu mei, because it is not roasted. The dish is most commonly found in South-East Asia, Southern China, Hong Kong and overseas Chinatowns.[2][3]
Names
The original name of the dish is called bittern cuttlefish (滷水墨魚)[3] and its colour is brownish white because of the sweeten soy sauce used[4]. If When left unconsumed for sometime, the colour of the bittern cuttlefish will grow dark and looks less appealing.[1][3] Therefore, when the dish is cooked in Hong Kong, the daa laang shop owners will add some food colouring, usually orange, when cooking the cuttlefish in brime.[1][3][5]
Nowadays, in Hong Kong, the dish is also selling as street foods. When serving the English speaking people, the daa laang shops call the dish orange cuttlefish (橙色墨魚).[3] However, some restaurants start to serve uncoloured bittern cuttlefish because of health concerns.[6]
Cantonese cuisine
The orange color comes from food coloring dye. Some flavors are added in order to enhance the taste of the cuttlefish. It has a unique soft-crisp (Chinese: 爽; Cantonese Yale: sóng) texture, generally not found in any other meat.
