Chikuwa

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Chikuwa (竹輪^?) is a Japanese tube-like food product made from ingredients like fish surimi, salt, sugar, starch, and egg white. After mixing them well, they are wrapped around a bamboo or metal stick and steamed or broiled. The name chikuwa, literally bamboo ring, comes from the shape when it is sliced.

Chikuwa is consumed all over Japan but in some places other variants of surimi products such as kamaboko and satsuma age may be consumed more. In Tottori, the per-household consumption has been the highest of all prefectures for the past 30 years, since the first year such records were kept.

As it is cheap and a relatively low-fat source of protein, chikuwa is also popular as a snack.

An increasingly popular way of preparing chikuwa in Australian sushi restaurants, is to stuff the hollow with cheese, (processed or soft cheeses like Brie) and deep-fry them in tempura batter.