Kakiage

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Kakiage
Kaki age don (kaki age tendon)

Kakiage or kaki-age (かき揚げ, 掻き揚げ or かきあげ), a Japanese dish, is a type of tempura. It is made by batter-dipping and deep-frying a batch of ingredients such as shrimp bits (or a clump of small-sized shrimp). Kakiage may use other seafood such as small scallops, shredded vegetables or a combination of such ingredients.

General description[edit]

A kaki age soba (tempura soba)
Kaki age udon

Kakiage is a type of tempura that uses small pieces of seafood, or vegetable or both.

Sometimes the main ingredients are clumps of fish or shellfish that are individually small,[1] or chopped into small pieces.[2]

The variety of seafood used include shrimp, mollusks like scallop,[2] or fish,[3][1] and can be combined with vegetables such as onion or mitsuba.[4] The kakiage may also use vegetarian ingredients such as carrots, burdock, or onions chopped into matchsticks[5][6] or into bits.[1]

Preparation[edit]

The lump being fried is shaped into disks,[a][6] and the kakiage are sometimes described as a "pancake" of sorts.[2] It is also referred to as a type of "fritter".[7][8]

The recipe may call for gently sliding the dollop of battered ingredients into hot oil,[6] and since it may try to break apart, a spatula may be used to hold it into place until the shape has set.[9] There is a modern-day implement being sold called a kakiage ring to assist in its cooking—a cylindrical, perforated sheet metal mold on a handle.[10]

In traditional preparation, these small pieces breaking apart must be constantly "raked together" (Japanese: kakiageru (掻き上げる)).[11]

Serving options[edit]

Kakiage may be eaten with tentsuyu or tempura dipping sauce and grated daikon radishes,[8] or with seasoned salt,[9] just like any other type of tempura.

It may also be served as a kakiage donburi or kakiage don, which is a rice bowl dish with a piece of kakiage placed on top of steamed rice.[12][7] A tendon (tempura bowl) may also include a piece of kakiage among other tempura morsels.[13]

Kakiage may top a bowl of kakesoba [ja] (hot soba in broth) or udon.[7]

Ingredients used in Japan[edit]

The kakiage typically uses a type of shrimp called shiba ebi [ja] (Metapenaeus spp.), whereas the individual whole shrimp tempura commonly uses both the shiba ebi and saimaki ebi (juvenile kuruma ebi).[14][15]

Another standard is using a type of small "scallops" called kobashira [ja] which are actually the adductor muscles of the bakagai or aoyagi clams (Mactra chinensis).[16][11]

Kakiage using fresh sakura shrimp are usually offered in the vicinity of Suruga Bay, Shizuoka Prefecture where these are caught,[17] although some recipes may call for the dried sakura shrimp which are more widely available.[18]

Etymology[edit]

The kakiage is so-named because one "mixes up" kakimazeru (かき混ぜる) the ingredients before they are fried, or so it has been claimed, e.g., by the tempura chef and proprietor of Tenkichi [ja] in Yokohama.[19]

Scholar Ikeda Yasaburō [ja] also introduces the same etymology, anecdotally quoting another tempura chef.[b][20]

History[edit]

Morisada mankō [ja] (written 1837–1853) stated that the tempura offered at soba noodle shops at the time used shiba ebi [ja] shrimp[21] (Metapenaeus joyneri). According to a soba researcher, tempura soba was invented around the Bunsei era (1818–1830), using the shiba ebi shrimp kakiage as topping.[22][23]

The former shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837–1913) was a regular customer at the tempura restaurant Tenkin [ja], where he would order an especially large kakiage, served on a Nabeshima plate.[24]

See also[edit]

Explanatory notes[edit]

  1. ^ Rather than into balls or other shapes.
  2. ^ This chef was lecturing to a customer that the kakiage he ordered was not deep-fried kaki, which would be kaki furai.

Citations[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Hosking, Richard (2015). "kakiage". A Dictionary of Japanese Food: Ingredients & Culture. C.N. Potter. p. 64. ISBN 9781462903436.
  2. ^ a b c Kondo, Sonoko; Stoumen, Louis Clyde (1986). The Poetical Pursuit of Food: Japanese Recipes for American Cooks. C.N. Potter. p. 174. ISBN 9780517556535.
  3. ^ Yamaguchi, Momoo; Kojima, Setsuko (1979). "kaki-age". A Cultural Dictionary of Japan. Japan Times. p. 95. ISBN 9784789000949.
  4. ^ Nabeko ナベコ (2019-03-18), "Tendon Tenya 'kakiage tendon' fukkatsu" 天丼てんや「かき揚げ天丼」復活, Shūkan Ascii
  5. ^ Ono & Salat (2013), p. 124.
  6. ^ a b c Hashimoto (2016), p. 98.
  7. ^ a b c Ono & Salat (2013), p. 121.
  8. ^ a b Hara, Luiz (2018). "Kakiage". The Japanese Larder: Bringing Japanese Ingredients into Your Everyday Cooking. Quarto Publishing. p. 192. ISBN 9781781318836.
  9. ^ a b Matsuhisa, Nobu; Edwards, Mark (1986). Nobu West. C.N. Potter. p. 100. ISBN 9780740765476.
  10. ^ Hirose, Takayo 広瀬敬代 (2017-02-14). "Hanahiraku onion ni shokunin-waza kakikage agemono senyō dōgu 4sen" 花開くオニオンに職人技かき揚げ 揚げ物専用道具4選 [From blooming onion to craftsman skill kakiage: selection of 4 deep-frying tools]. Nikkei.
  11. ^ a b Sasakawa, Rinpū 笹川臨風 (1965). "19 Mikaku sōmakuri 味覺總まくり". Meiji sukigaeshi 明治還魂紙. Chikuma Shobo. p. 160. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  12. ^ Hashimoto (2016), p. 117.
  13. ^ Snyder, Garrett (2012-09-18). "46: Edomae Tendon Bowl at Hannosuke". LA Weekly.
  14. ^ Hosking (2015), p. 37.
  15. ^ Okuyama (1972), p. 259:"シバエビ..クルマエビより味はやや落ちるが、付け焼き、煮もの、てんぶらのかき揚げ、酢の物など、利用法は多い (Shiba ebi.. slightly less tasty than kuruma ebi, but is marinade-broiled, braised, made into kakiage tenpura, etc., there are many uses)"; p. 119: "エビ.. シバエビは.. てんぷらに向く。クルマエビの小さいのをサイマキといい、てんぷら用 (ebi [shrimp].. shiba ebi.. is suited for tempura.. small-sized kuruma ebi is called saimaki and used for tenpura)".
  16. ^ Tada, Tetsunosuke 多田鉄之助 (1985). "kakiage" かき揚げ. Nihon daihyakka zensho 日本大百科全書. Vol. 4. Shogakukan. p. 876.
  17. ^ Noguchi, Takuro; Miyasako, Junko (2018-12-14). "Shrimp fishing season scrapped amid depletion in Suruga Bay". Asahi Shimbun.
  18. ^ Itoh, Makiko (2013-05-24). "Springtime beans aim for the sky". Japan Times.
  19. ^ Hara, Shigeo 原成男 (2005). Sake to namida to tenpura: Yokohama kōjitsu Tenkichi biyori 酒と涙と男と天ぷら 横濱好日・天吉日和. Kanagawa Shinbunsha. p. 160. ISBN 9784876453689.
  20. ^ Ikeda, Yasaburō 池田弥三郎 (1965-07-20). Watashi no shokumotsushi 私の食物誌. Kawade Shobo. p. 179.; reprint, Shinchōsha, 1980, p. 244.
  21. ^ Kitagawa, Kisō 喜田川季荘 (1908), Muromatsu, Iwao 室松岩雄 (ed.), Ruijū kinsei fūzokushi: genmei Morisada mankōi 類聚近世風俗志 : 原名守貞漫稿, vol. 2, Kokugakuin Daigaku Shuppanbu, p. 429
  22. ^ Niijima, Shigeru 新島繁 (1975), 蕎麦入門, 保育社, p. 115, ISBN 9784586503438
  23. ^ Iso, Naomichi 磯直道 (2006), Edo no haikai ni miru gyoshoku bunka 江戸の俳諧にみる魚食文化, Seizando shoten, p. 104, ISBN 9784425852314
  24. ^ Ikeda, Yasaburō 池田弥三郎 (1965-05-25). Ginza jūnishō 銀座十二章. Asahi Shimbunsha. p. 54.; also quoted in Arisue Ken [ja] et al., Toshi no katsuryoku 都市の活力, 2, p. 603.

Bibliography[edit]