Surimi means "minced meat" in Japanese, and while several surimi products are made, the most well-known are imitation crab sticks. They're also called sea sticks, but their real name is kanikama.

That's right, the main ingredient is actually a fish paste called surimi. Surimi is often made from pollock fish with fillers and flavorings like starch, sugar, egg whites, and crab flavoring.

When they see crab rangoon on the menu at their local Chinese restaurant, lots of people wonder if there's actually crab in it. Here's what the dish is made of.

Imitation crab, also known as surimi, and cream cheese are tucked into wonton wrappers — perhaps the dish’s only Chinese component — and deep-fried. That it first appeared on menus in ...