conpoy
{{short description|Cantonese dried scallop}}
{{More citations needed|date=December 2009}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox Chinese
|title=Conpoy
|pic=BCfood17.JPG
|t=江瑤柱
|s=江瑶柱
|p=jiāng yáo zhù
|j=gong¹ jiu⁴ cyu⁵
|y=gōng yìuh chyúh
|l=river scallop
|t2=乾瑤柱
|s2=干瑶柱
|j2=gon¹ jiu⁴ cyu⁵
|y2=gōn yìuh chyúh
|p2=gān yáo zhù
|l2=dried scallop
|t3=乾貝
|s3=干贝
|p3=gānbèi
|y3=gōn bui
|j3=gon¹ bui³
|poj3=kan-pōe
|l3=dried shell(fish)
}}
Conpoy or dried scallop is a type of Cantonese dried seafood product that is made from the adductor muscle of scallops.{{cite book|last=Simonds|first=Nina|title=Food of China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-9XWQrpbLAgC&pg=PA289|year=2005|publisher=Murdoch Books|isbn=978-1-74045-463-6|page=289}} The smell of conpoy is marine, pungent, and reminiscent of certain salt-cured meats. Its taste is rich in umami due to its high content of various free amino acids, such as glycine, alanine, and glutamic acid. It is also rich in nucleic acids such as inosinic acid, amino acid byproducts such as taurine, and minerals, such as calcium and zinc.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}
Conpoy is produced by cooking raw scallops and then drying them.
Terminology
Usage
In Hong Kong, conpoy from two types of scallops are common. Conpoy made from Atrina pectinata or {{zh|cy=gōng yìuh|labels=no}} (江珧) from mainland China is small and milder in taste. Mizuhopecten yessoensis or {{zh|cy=sin bui|labels=no}} (扇貝), a sea scallop imported from Japan (hotategai, 帆立貝 in Japanese), produces a conpoy that is stronger and richer in taste {{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}.
As with many dried foods, conpoy was originally made as a way to preserve seafood in times of excess.{{cite book|last1=Tsai|first1=Ming|last2=Boehm|first2=Arthur|title=Blue Ginger: East Meets West Cooking with Ming Tsai|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SdTF3KznjJ0C&pg=PA7|year=1999|publisher=Clarkson Potter|isbn=978-0-609-60530-1|page=7}} In more recent times its use in cuisine has been elevated to gourmet status. Conpoy has a strong and distinctive flavor that can be easily identified when used in rice congee, stir fries, stews, and sauces.
XO sauce, a seasoning used for frying vegetables or seafoods in Cantonese cuisine, contains significant quantities of conpoy. For example, the Lee Kum Kee formulation lists conpoy as the third ingredient on its label.
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See also
{{portal|Food}}
{{div col|colwidth=30em}}
- {{annotated link|Budu (sauce)|Budu}}
- {{annotated link|Dried shrimp}}
- {{annotated link|Fish sauce}}
- {{annotated link|Delicacy#Delicacies|List of delicacies}}
- {{annotated link|List of dried foods}}
- {{annotated link|Padaek}}
- {{annotated link|Saeu-jeot}}
- {{annotated link|Shrimp paste}}
- {{annotated link|Smoked scallop}}
{{div col end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Dried fish and seafood}}