Seafood Snacks from Kaohsiung: Jane Jane Shredded Squid
Kaohsiung's squid catch ranks second in the world, and squid is known as one of the city's three ocean treasures, along with tuna and saury. Among the many processed squid foods available nowadays, Jane Jane Shredded Squid, produced by Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise Co., Ltd., has become a tasty favorite of people throughout Taiwan.
Kaohsiung's squid catch ranks second in the world, and squid is known as one of the city's three ocean treasures, along with tuna and saury. Among the many processed squid foods available nowadays, Jane Jane Shredded Squid, produced by Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise Co., Ltd., has become a tasty favorite of people throughout Taiwan.
Exporting from Kaohsiung Cianjhen Fishing Port
Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise, which has been based in Kaohsiung for more than 40 years, manages deep-sea fisheries operations from Taiwan's largest deep-sea fishing harbor, Cianjhen Fishing Port in Kaohsiung. It updated its technology and set up the country's first shredded squid processing plant in 1979. Since then, it has won a solid reputation through its Jane Jane-brand shredded squid.
Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise makes and sells a variety of products, including dried squid shreds, cod fragrant shreds, and kelp candy. Its frozen prepared foods include fish balls and crab-flavored sticks, while its exports include squid steaks. General Manager Chen Huang-jhou says that Jane Jane has built a name for itself in the United States, Canada, and Europe. In foreign countries, frozen food is more popular than snacks.
“We don't sell anything we wouldn't eat!” Chen says, stressing that using unhealthy additives would run counter to Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise's corporate spirit and culture. The company has also obtained internationally-recognized SQF certification, guaranteeing a high level of food safety and quality.
Chen believes that people adore munching on Jane Jane shredded squid because of its tasty flavor and chewy-yet-tender texture. When making quality products, quality management is of paramount importance, he explains. Quality control depends on skilled specialists. Squid parts that are more than 1.5 cm wide, too hard, or too thick are removed. Moreover, the company has endeavored to reduce the calorie and sodium content of its products as much as possible without compromising their flavor.
Jane Jane Traditional-Style Grilled Squid has become another popular snack in recent years. The squid is grilled on an iron plate with a distinctive honey sauce, lending it an aroma that older Taiwanese often associate with the grilled squid sold by vendors outside movie theaters decades ago. Chen's confidence in Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise's products is obvious. He recalls negotiating with a Japanese customer who used Chen's ready-to-eat snow crab legs to make crab-leg sushi on the spot. The client was so impressed that he placed an order immediately after tasting it!
Chen says that Shin Ho Sing Ocean Enterprise has more than 340 employees, and the turnover rate is extremely low. More than half of the workers have 20-plus years of experience. Chen is a Taipei native who has been living in Kaohsiung for eight years. In addition to his fondness for the southern maritime city and its warm and straightforward people, he recognizes the continuous progress Kaohsiung has been making, saying: “Kaohsiung is the root of our company!”
來自高雄的海味零嘴——珍珍魷魚絲
高雄魷魚捕獲量位居世界第二，與鮪魚、秋刀魚並稱高雄市海洋三寶，眾多魷魚的加工食品中，深耕高雄40多年的新和興海洋企業(股)公司產製的「珍珍魷魚絲」風味絕佳，是深受台灣人喜愛的零食之一。
立足高雄前鎮漁港 外銷各國
新和興海洋公司在台灣最大遠洋漁港－高雄的前鎮漁港，經營遠洋漁業，後來技術轉型，於1979年興建台灣第一座魷魚絲加工廠，以「珍珍」魷魚絲打響名號。
新和興海洋公司產品多元，包括烘乾製品的魷魚絲、鱈魚香絲與昆布糖等；冷凍調理食品有魚丸、蟹味棒等，外銷的水產品則有魷魚排。總經理陳皇州說，珍珍這個品牌，已在美國、加拿大與歐洲等地闖出名號，在國外，冷凍食品較休閒食品更受歡迎。
「我們自己不敢吃的東西，我們不賣！」陳皇州表示，不添加不合法添加物是公司的企業精神與文化，也取得食品界最高等級的美國SQA認證。
陳皇州指出，珍珍魷魚絲讓人越吃越涮嘴的秘訣在絕佳的口感、彈性Ｑ度和鬆軟度，其品質管理至關重要，魷魚絲品管仰賴熟練的老師傅把關，超過1.5公分寬、太硬太厚的局部都要淘汰。珍珍魷魚絲在不影響口味下，盡可能降低熱量和鈉含量。
另一款戲院口魷魚是近年暢銷熱賣的零嘴，鐵板燒烤的魷魚，加上特製燒烤蜜汁，呈現早期台灣戲院口烤魷魚香氣，廣受消費者喜愛。陳皇州對自家產品深具信心，他談起，曾與日本廠商洽談松葉蟹味腿，客戶現場將這款解凍即食的蟹味棒做成的蟹味腿握壽司，試吃後立即下訂！
新和興海洋公司員工有340多人，流動率極低，資歷20年以上的超過一半；來自台北的陳皇州在高雄生活邁入第8年，喜歡上這個海洋城市，以及熱情、純樸的高雄人，樂見高雄越來越美好，「這裡是新和興的根！」。