Glossary - Ingredients

Chikuwa / Tube-Shaped Fish Cake

Tube-shaped fish cake with a hole in the middle

What is chikuwa?

Chikuwa / tube-shaped fish cake (ちくわ in Japanese) is minced fish paste with starch kneaded in, then wrapped around a bamboo or metal skewer into the shape of a tube and steamed or roasted. Chikuwa is used in a wide variety of dishes like a Japanese hot pot variety using various ingredients and eaten in winter called Oden, other stews, and stir-fry, or the hole in the tube can be filled with cheese or vegetables.

Nutrition facts

Chikuwa contains high-quality protain as it is made of fish flesh. It is also low in calories and fat. However, because wheat, starch, sugar, etc. are mixed in during the manufacturing process, it contains more carbohydrates than fish. Chikuwa contains calcium and vitamin D. Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption and is essential for the formation and maintenance of bones. It is particularly effective in preventing osteoporosis.
However, chikuwa is high in salt, so it is best to consume consciously. It is recommended to combine chikuwa with vegetables that are high in potassium, or to use the salt in chikuwa to flavor dishes. "Chikuwa cucumber," a dish commonly eaten in Japan where cucumber is filled into the opening of the cake, makes sense in that respect.

Chikuwa cucumber

Storage to prevent food loss

Store in the refrigerator or the freezer.

Trivia

Kamaboko(fish cake, fish paste), used to be shaped into a tube like chikuwa until the board-pressed shape was introduced in the Momoyama period (1568-1600), while chikuwa kamaboko which is named after its bamboo shape, came to simply be called chikuwa.