Orange cuttlefish or Orange squid is the most common English name used for the cuttlefish dish within Cantonese cuisine. It is one of the siu mei dishes, though it is not quite roasted. The dish is most commonly found in Southern China, Hong Kong and overseas Chinatowns.
A cuttlefish or squid can be used interchangeably, though they both share the same Chinese food name (鹵水墨魚). It is also shortened most of the time to just (墨魚).
The name "Orange" has been used to distinguish it by color. The fruit orange does not have anything to do with the dish.
The orange color comes from the food coloring dye. Some flavors are added, but the cuttlefish alone usually has little to no taste. It has a unique soft-crisp (爽 shuang) texture, generally not found in any other meat.
When served, it is usually sliced into tiny pieces. It comes with a black alkaline dipping sauce called (鹵水, lu shui) that gives it a mildly salty flavor. The sauce is culturally accepted to have a Guangdong or Chaozhou origin.
