Chikuwa Cucumber is one of the easiest and quickest side dishes you can make. Use these stuffed Japanese fish cakes to fill the extra space in your bento box or serve alongside dinner. You can also use blanched okra. No cooking required!
When you need just one more dish to fill up the empty space of the lunch box, Chikuwa Cucumber comes in handy. Chikuwa is a Japanese fish cake and is used in many dishes such as Oden (Fish Cake Stew) and Chikuwa Isobeage. The best part is that preparation only takes a few minutes. Enjoy!
Sign up for the free newsletter delivered to your inbox and stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
Chikuwa Cucumber
Chikuwa Cucumber is one of the easiest and quickest side dishes you can make. Use these stuffed Japanese fish cakes to fill the extra space in your bento box or serve alongside dinner. You can also use blanched okra. No cooking required!
Servings: 15 (to 20) pieces
Ingredients
- 1 Japanese or Persian cucumber (or use thin pieces of blanched okra)
- 1 package chikuwa (fish cake) (5 pieces per package)
Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.
Instructions
- Cut 1 Japanese or Persian cucumber to the length of the fish cakes from 1 package chikuwa (fish cake). Peel the cucumber skin in a striped pattern.
- Cut the cucumber into thin sticks that will fit inside the hole of the chikuwa. If your cucumber has many seeds, remove them. Stuff the cucumber sticks inside the fish cake tubes. Tip: You can also use blanched, thin okra instead of cucumber sticks.
- Cut each stuffed chikuwa in thirds or quarters. You can also cut it diagonally for a decorative look. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 43 kcal · Carbohydrates: 5 g · Protein: 3 g · Fat: 1 g · Saturated Fat: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1 g · Sodium: 341 mg · Potassium: 76 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 55 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 8 mg · Iron: 4 mg
©JustOneCookbook.com Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any website or social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Did you make this recipe?If you made this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #justonecookbook! We love to see your creations on Instagram @justonecookbook!
Nami, just to clarify, we can eat chikuwa straight from the package? So if I freeze chikuwa, I don’t have to cook it, just defrost it?
Hi Aubrey! Yes, chikuwa is already steamed and packed, so you can eat out of package, or heat up if you prefer. 🙂
Any idea what I could replace fishcake with ? This is a very good idea and I’d love to add something like this to the bento I make, but I don’t have a place to buy fishcake around me :/
Hi Joy! Usually Asian stores carry these in frozen section (Japanese grocery store in fridge section). I can’t think of any other food that has a hole in the middle…. do you? If you have some good ingredient to replace the chikuwa (fish cake), it would be great! 🙂
Wow. That’s the fastest side dish I’ve ever seen!
I don’t call this a “recipe”… LOL!