Surume Geso: Japanese Dried Squid Tentacle Snack
“Otsumami (おつまみ)” is the Japanese word for snack foods eaten with alcoholic drinks. It refers to finger foods and nibbles.
For example, if you have potato chips while drinking beer, the snack can be called Otsumami.
As I have written many times, Otsumami comes in many variations, from traditional to modern.
In the genre, there are a variety of dried squid snacks, and representative examples include “Surume (スルメ)”, “Saki-ika (さきいか)”, and “Noshi-ika (のしイカ)”.
Among them, Surume is the most commonly eaten and available at most supermarkets.
It is made of squid that has been gutted and dried under the sun. (By the way, “Ika (イカ, いか)” is the Japanese word for squid or cuttlefish).
Surume Geso (するめげそ)
Additionally, if you have a chance to shop at a supermarket in Japan, you may see the Otsumami “Surume Geso (するめげそ)” lined up on the shelf in the snack food section.
The word in its name “Geso (げそ)” stands for the tentacles of a squid or Ika, and Surume Geso is made by drying squid’s tentacles “Ika Geso (イカゲソ)”
These dried squid tentacles have a hard tough texture. But the more you chew on it, the more the flavor and umami come out, and the tastier it becomes.
This Surume Ika Geso is only lightly seasoned with salt and red chili pepper to accentuate the natural flavor and umami taste of squid.
(Reference Page: Wikipedia スルメ )
