墨鱼 (mò yú, literally ínk fish), Sepia officinalis, Cuttlefish, a further member of the squid and octopus family, is also a popular seafood item here.
It is sold fresh, dried and made into seafood preparations such as fish balls etc. The dried is the most popular and is shredded and eaten as a snack or added to hotpots and soups to enhance umami.
Dried Cuttlefish
The 18th century Chinese cookery classic 随园食单 (suí yuán shí dān) by Yuan Mei praised the high quality of cuttlefish roe, but noted that it is difficult to prepare. I've never seen it.
However their ink is sold in bags and used to colour noodles etc. I have a bag of ink somewhere, but can’t find it right now. Here are instead are some dried cuttlefish ink hand-pulled noodles.
墨鱼汁拉面 (mò yú zhī lā miàn) - Cuttlefish Ink Hand Pulled Noodles
The cuttlefish is regarded by some as being one of the sea's most intelligent creatures (along with octopus) and so many avoid eating them.
Fresh Cuttlefish and Tofu Salad
