Shredding imitation crab meat can be a time-consuming part of many recipes, but this TikTok hack cuts that down to a matter of seconds.

Those who are familiar with cooking with imitation crab meat will also be familiar with the all-too-often fiddly process of shredding it too, using fingers to individually shred the meat, or using a fork to break it apart.

TikTok has now provided yet another handy cooking hack to save you from the mild torture. Chef and TikTok user @the_sugarmamma gave her tip for the process—simply squeezing the water out.

"Life hack from a chef from Sinaloa [for] how to shred imitation crab meat," she wrote on-screen, showing herself simply squeezing the water out of large handfuls of imitation crab meat in her hand.

"It comes out shredded," she said, releasing her hand to completely shredded meat. It's as simple as squeezing the liquid from the meat.

In just three days, the hack has gained over 1.4 million views, with users flooding the comments in shock at just how much time they could have been saving over the years.

The video can also be seen in full here.

"You're telling me for the hours i've been pulling apart that all I needed to do is squeeze the water out," wrote one user.

"I'm almost embarrassed to admit how much effort and time i've spent shredding it," commented another.

One TikTok viewer noted: "My mom has me shredding this for what feels like hours when this is all I had to do."

Squeezing the water out of the meat isn't the only quick trick for shredding imitation crab though, as online videos offer two alternatives.

One YouTube creator suggested using a hand mixer to shred the meat in a bowl, making sure to cover it with a paper towel to stop product flying away.

"Something so simple, yet I struggle with this chore until seeing this. One of those moments where I said 'really? Now why did I not think of that,'" commented one YouTube viewer.

Another popular online hack sees users shred the crab by going over it still in a bag with a rolling pin.

The hand mixer hack is no stranger to TikTok either, after one user went viral in July for using it to shred chicken.

As reported by Newsweek, the hand mixer perfectly breaks up the chicken into small pieces that are perfect for meals like tacos and soups.

"The chicken was in the pressure cooker for 20 minutes, with chicken stock. I then drained the chicken stock to shred the chicken, so I can split the chicken for my three meals," Chenel Kruger told Newsweek.

"'I've been using this method for a year now, [but] I can't remember how I started it," she said.

Despite the time-saving tricks though, some are happy to continue shredding their meat by hand: "I love shredding it because it gives me an excuse to eat some," commented one content viewer.

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