Chikuwa Fish Cake Tempura (Chikuwa Isobe-age) is not made in the exact same way as Tempura, but it is a traditional home-cooking dish. It is crispy outside and soft inside, with a subtle aroma from the nori seaweed mixed in the batter. See the video.
Chikuwa Isobe-age is one of those dishes that can be served as a side dish, main dish or even finger food.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 2 thick chikuwa (190g in total, note 1)
- Oil to deep fry (about 3cm deep)
- 2 tbsp wheat flour
- 1 tbsp corn flour/cornstarch
- 1 tbsp mayonnaise (I used Kewpie mayo)
- 3 1/3 tbsp water (50ml)
- 1 tbsp aonori
- Lemon wedges
-
Cut each chikuwa horizontally into 3 equal cylindrical pieces, then halve each piece vertically (note 2).
-
Put all the Tempura Batter ingredients, excluding aonori, in a medium-size bowl and mix gently. It’s ok to have a small amount of flour lumps.
-
Add aonori to the batter and mix.
-
Heat oil in a deep-frying pan or a saucepan to 180°C/356°F. You only need it to about 3cm deep.
-
Put all of the chikuwa pieces in the batter and coat them thoroughly (note 3).
-
Taking one chikuwa piece at a time, gently put the battered chikuwa pieces in the oil, without overcrowding the oil (note 4).
-
Deep-fry for about 30 seconds, then turn them over.
-
Cook further 30 seconds and transfer the chikuwa pieces to a tray lined with a piece of kitchen paper.
-
Repeat for the rest of the chikuwa pieces.
-
Pile the Chikuwa Isobe-age pieces on a serving plate, with lemon wedges on the side (if using).
1. Instead of thick chikuwa, you can use thin chikuwa, which usually comes in 5 short sticks in a pack. My pack of short stick chikuwa weighed 160g. Please see the photos in the post.
2. Alternatively, you can slice the chikuwa diagonally into about 1.5-2cm wide pieces. Depending on the angle, you can adjust the size and number of pieces you get. Smaller pieces of Isobe-age are suited to finger food.
3. Make sure that the batter covers the half circle section of the chikuwa pieces (see the video). Not coating this section with batter will make the chikuwa piece bent outward when deep-fried.
If you are making diagonally sliced Chikuwa Isobe-age, make sure that the batter coats the inside of the holes. It may not be easy because the batter is not watery.
4. I used a small pan to save oil, so I cooked in 3 batches of 4 pieces at once.