Aonori Seaweed Infused Chikuwa Tempura
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Tempura has now become a Japanese food favourite in the West with more and more people enjoying the light and cripsy taste of delicatley deep fried vegetables and seafood. You may have already tasted prawn, pumpkin, or squid tempura but what about chikuwa seafood stick tempura?

Chikuwa literally means “bamboo ring” in Japanese, a name which comes from the tube shape of this low-fat seafood stick made from a mix of fish, surimi and egg. You can spot them in Japanese hot-pot dishes such as oden all over Japan, but they are also a delicious snack when deep fried!

A little trick that is well known by traditional Japanese izakaya bars is to mix the tempura batter with aonori seaweed to make chikuwa isobe-age. A small addition that makes a big difference to the flavour! You will often see Japanese people eating these chikuwa isobe-age in bars with an ice cold Asahi beer to wash it down with!

1 person 15 minutes 5 minutes splurge

Ingredients

• Chikuwa Seafood Stick – 1 Pack
• Tempura Batter Mix – 100g
• Aonori Seaweed – 2 Teaspoons
• Water – 160ml
• Peanut Oil / Vegetable Oil for Deep-Fry

How to prepare

Start by slicing your chikuwa lengthwise into smaller pieces. Set these aside for a moment while we prepare the tempura batter.
Mix 100g of tempura flour with 160ml of ice cold water to make the batter. Add the aonori seaweed here and mix it together. By leaving the mixture slightly lumpy, you can get some of the extra cripsy bits on your tempura.
Once you have finished mixing the ingredients together, dip the chikuwa into the batter and make sure that it gets fully covered all over.

Heat up your oil and make sure that the temperature is stable between 160°C and 180°C. Add the chikuwa to the oil carefully and deep fry it for 1 to 2 minutes until it becomes a golden colour.
Your chikuwa isobe-age is now ready so dip your chikuwa into a little soy sauce, crack open a cold beer and relax with this great tasting snack!

Tips and information

If you have prepared too much oil or batter, don’t waste it, just finely slice some fresh vegetables and make some more tempura… your friends definitely will not complain if you have too much to feed them!

For extra crispiness:
1) Keep your chikuwa in the fridge until you are ready to deep fry it. You can also add ice to the batter to make that extra cold too. The colder your ingredients are when you drop them into the fryer, the lighter and crispier your tempura will become!
2) Be sure to remove the excess water from your chikuwa with some paper towel before deep frying them.

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How to deep-fry:

- If you don’t have a thermometer to check if the oil is hot enough, just use a wooden spoon or chopsticks, if you can see bubbles forming around it you’re ready to deep-fry.

- Try to check the oil’s temperature regularly, if it is too low your chikuwa will be too greasy.

- Submerge all the chikuwa in the pot but allow some space at the top so the oil level can rise.

- Don’t overcrowd the pot to avoid splattering as it may lower the oil’s temperature.

- Use paper towel after deep-frying and not a newspaper! The ink is toxic.

- Don’t add cold water to hot oil, it could result in serious burns!