Chikuwa and Hanpen — Processed Fish Products

Japan-wide — Odawara (Kanagawa) as kamaboko centre; Osaka and Satsuma (Kagoshima) for regional varieties

Japan's surimi-based processed fish products (kamaboko, chikuwa, hanpen, satsuma-age, narutomaki) represent a category of Japanese food culture that is far more sophisticated than 'processed seafood' implies. Chikuwa (竹輪, 'bamboo ring') is formed by wrapping surimi paste around a bamboo skewer, then grilling the exterior while the interior steams — producing a tube with a golden, slightly charred exterior and an elastic, lightly smoky interior. The hole through the centre (where the skewer was) is the characteristic visual. Hanpen (半片) is a white, extremely soft and airy fish cake made from shark or white fish surimi with Japanese yam (nagaimo), producing a product with a light, springy, almost cloud-like texture unlike the firmer standard fish cakes. Both are essential oden ingredients; chikuwa is also eaten as a snack (filled with cucumber or cream cheese), as an ingredient in stir-fries, and in miso soup.

• Both Japanese surimi products and Spanish canned/processed fish products represent a culture's willingness to honour processed seafood as legitimate culinary ingredients rather than inferior substitutes → Gilda (anchovy-olive-pepper pintxo), txaka (crab stick) Spanish
• Korean eomuk/odeng and Japanese kamaboko are closely related fish cake traditions — Korean eomuk tends to be softer and more frequently used in street food skewers; Japanese kamaboko is firmer and more varied in form → Eomuk (Korean fish cake, odeng) Korean

Chikuwa: mildly smoky-charred exterior with springy white fish interior; hanpen: extremely delicate, almost cloud-like, clean white fish sweetness; both absorb surrounding flavours beautifully in oden