The story of sea cucumber begins in the 1500s A.D., the latter half of the Chinese Ming Dynasty. During the Ming rule, the Emperor’s Inner Council began to shape the Emperor’s meals around foods that would maintain the Emperor in good health. Sea cucumber became one of the staples of this diet. High in protein – most of it being collagen -, low in fat, and an animal that is regenerative was seen as highly beneficial to keeping the Emperor healthy and living for a long and prosperous life.
Sea cucumber also plays a big part in the Qing Dynasty, the last of the great Chinese dynasties. In the Qing Dynasty, sea cucumber was part of the famous Imperial Dish called the “8 Immortals”. It became famously the first course served at “Confucious Family Banquets”; served at birthdays, holiday gatherings, and visits by noble lords and scholars to the Emperor’s kingdom. In this dish, it is said that sea cucumber was the main ingredient.
Today, sea cucumber is harvested all over the globe for consumption mainly in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore. The Canadian east coast fishery began in 1999, led by Ocean Pride Fisheries as the first processor of this species. Sea Cucumbers are a mainstay of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), stemming from the dietary function established in the Ming Dynasty and this has led to a huge demand for sea cucumber in Asian cuisine, with prices of sea cucumber ranging from $100 to more than $3000 per kilogram. Historically, sea cucumbers have been harvested, dried and rehydrated for consumption in special dishes but today, with technological advances, sea cucumber can be consumed in a nutraceutical form making it more convenient to get the health benefits from it.
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