Chikuwa Isobeage—fried fish cakes coated with tempura batter—are a classic pub food in Japan. With a crispy exterior and deliciously chewy texture, they make the best snack or side to go with anything! Only 5 ingredients needed.
I love a well-stocked pantry, especially with ingredients that allow me to dish out a quick meal or when the cravings strike. One of the items on my freezer list is Chikuwa, Japanese tube-shape fish cakes. They are sold frozen at the Japanese grocery stores and I always grab a few bags to stock up.
Today I’ll share a simple recipe—Chikuwa Isobeage (ちくわ磯辺揚げ). It’s essentially a crispy fried dish coated with a tempura-style batter flavored with seaweed. You’ll love it as a fun side, beer food, or a great snack for movie night!
What are Chikuwa Isobeage
Chikuwa (竹輪, ちくわ) is a type of fish cake that comes in a tube shape. The surimi (pureed fish) paste is wrapped around the bamboo stick, then steamed and broiled.
It is one of the popular fishcakes, along with kamaboko. A relatively inexpensive ingredient, chikuwa is used in otsumami (a dish served with alcohol), bento, oden, and more!
Introducing Isobeage
Pronounced [iso-beh-a-geh], isobeage (磯辺揚げ) is a tempura dish in which the batter contains aonori (青のり) or aosa (あおさ), dried green seaweed flakes.
Aonori/oasa has a distinct and strong aroma. You may have seen green seaweed flakes on Takoyaki, Okonomiyaki, and other dishes.
For those who wonder about the Japanese word, ‘isobe’ refers to rocky coastline/beachside where you find seaweed. And as you may already know, ‘age’ means deep-fried dish, like karaage or satsuma age.
Isobe Ae (磯部和え), Iseobe Mochi (磯辺餅), Isobe Yaki (磯辺焼き) are some of the dishes that include seaweed flakes.
Where to Get Aonori/Aosa
- Japanese and Asian grocery stores
- Amazon
How to Make Chikuwa Isobeage
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Chikuwa (fish cake)
- Aonori or Aosa (dried green seaweed flakes)
- Flour
- Water
- Salt
- Oil for shallow-frying
Yes, that’s it!
Overview: Cooking Step
- Cut the chikuwa in half and bite-size pieces.
- Make the batter with flour, aonori, water.
- Coat chikuwa with batter and shallow-fry for a minute.
Cooking Tips
- Do not over-mix the batter.
- You will need just ¼ inch (6 mm) oil in the pan.
- Add salt in the batter, but sprinkle (flaked) salt right before eating.
Substitute Ideas
In addition to chikuwa, this seaweed-flavored tempura batter can also be used with other ingredients. Something with a bland or neutral taste would work best so that the aromatic aonori or aosa stands out. Here are my suggestions:
- Fish balls (cut in half or whole)
- Lotus root (thinly sliced)
- Yamaimo/nagaimo (sticks)
- Tofu (cubed)
- Mushrooms (king oyster, shimeji, etc) (sliced or whole)
- Squid (small pieces)
- Chicken (bite-size pieces)
How to Serve Chikuwa Isobeage
With light crispy edges bursting with umami seaweed flavor, these fried fish cakes are so fun to eat! Once you take a bite, it’s hard to stop. No wonder they are such a favorite beer food in Japan.
At home, you can enjoy Chikuwa Isobeage in different ways:
- Serve it with chilled beer
- Place on top of udon/soba noodle soup
- Afternoon snack for kids
- Savory snack for movie nights
- A fun add-on to your main meal or bento box
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
Chikuwa Isobeage
Ingredients
- 5 pieces chikuwa (fish cake) (5.6 oz, 160 g)
- ½ cup neutral oil (for frying)
For the Tempura Batter
- 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour) (weigh your flour; for weights, click the Metric button; or use the “fluff and sprinkle“ method and level it off)
- 2 tsp aonori (dried green laver seaweed)
- ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- 4 Tbsp water
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Tempura Batter
- In a medium bowl, combine the 4 Tbsp all-purpose flour (plain flour), 2 tsp aonori (dried green laver seaweed), and ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Mix well with chopsticks.
- Gradually add 4 Tbsp water to the dry ingredients and roughly mix with chopsticks. We do not want to activate the gluten in the batter, so do not overmix. It‘s okay to have lumps in the batter.
- Cut 5 pieces chikuwa (fish cake) in half lengthwise. If you‘d like, cut each piece again crosswise in half or thirds.
- Add the chikuwa to the batter and coat well.
To Shallow-Fry
- In a large frying pan, heat ½ cup neutral oil on medium heat. When it‘s hot, place the battered chikuwa in the pan. Do not crowd.
- Shallow-fry until the bottom side is nice golden brown, then flip to cook the other side. Fry for roughly 1 minute on each side as the chikuwa is already cooked. Drain the excess oil on a paper towel or wire rack and serve immediately. I also like to sprinkle with sea salt flakes to intensify the flavor.
To Store
- You can store the leftovers in an airtight container and store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days and in the freezer for 2 weeks. I recommend reheating them in the oven or toaster oven for a crispy texture.
This recipe is awesome! It doesn’t take long at all. It’s even easy to memorize. Even with the chikuwa frozen I was able to just run them under hot water for a few minutes to thaw and pat them dry, ready to go! Quick and easy snacks for a fun night. Me and my boyfriend took a break halfway through our game of Koi Koi and had these snacks with some Asahi Dry beer! It was a nice night!
Hi Lion! Aww, Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and for your kind feedback!
Play Koi-Koi, a yummy snack with beer, sounds like a great idea!🍻🀢
Thank you so much for your wonderful recipes! 💕 💐They are helping me to become a better cook while keeping my connection to Japan alive. So, I am overjoyed by your generosity, and celebrating with healthy and delicious Japanese food! 🍱🍡🍘🥗🍵💐💕
Hi Hanan, We couldn’t be happier to hear how much joy and excitement Nami’s recipe has brought to you!
Thank you very much for trying many recipes and for your kind feedback. 😊