View source for Kamaboko

{{Short description|Japanese cured fish product}}
{{Expand Japanese|topic=cult|date=February 2025}}
{{More citations needed|date=June 2025}}
{{Italic title}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}{{Infobox food
| name             = {{Transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}}
| image            = Kamaboko.jpg
| image_size       = 300px
| caption          = Pink and white {{Transliteration|ja|kamaboko}}
| alternate_name   = Fish cake
| country          = [[Japan]]
| region           = [[East Asia]]
| national_cuisine = 
| creator          = 
| year             = 
| mintime          = 
| maxtime          = 
| type             = {{transliteration|ja|[[Surimi]]}}
| course           = 
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = White fish
| minor_ingredient = 
| variations       = 
| serving_size     = 100 g
| calories         = 
| protein          = 
| fat              = 
| carbohydrate     = 
| glycemic_index   = 
| similar_dish     = [[Gefilte fish]]
| other            = 
| cookbook         = Kamaboko
| commons          = Kamaboko
}}

[[File:Satsumaage,薩摩揚げ、諏訪湖SA,8139535.JPG|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|[[Satsuma age]]}}]]

{{nihongo||蒲鉾:かまぼこ|'''Kamaboko'''}} is a type of [[Curing (chemistry)|cured]] {{transliteration|ja|[[surimi]]}}, a processed seafood product common in [[Japanese cuisine]]. It was initially made in the year 1115.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Park|first=Jae W.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yWZmAQAAQBAJ&dq=surimi+and+surimi+seafood&pg=PA5|title=Surimi and Surimi Seafood|date=2013-11-12|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4398-9857-4|edition=3|language=en}}</ref>{{Rp|4–5}}

==Production and uses==
{{transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}} is made by forming various [[Purée|pureed]] deboned [[whitefish (fisheries term)|white fish]] with either natural or man-made additives and flavorings into distinctive loaves, which are then steamed until fully cooked and firm. These are sliced and either served unheated (or chilled) with various dipping sauces, or added to various hot soups, rice, or noodle dishes. {{transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}} is often sold in semicylindrical loaves, some featuring artistic patterns, such as the pink spiral on each slice of {{transliteration|ja|[[narutomaki]]}}, named after [[Naruto whirlpools|the well-known tidal whirlpool]] near the Japanese city of [[Naruto, Tokushima|Naruto]].<ref name="nipponcom">{{cite web|url=https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01150/|title=The Many Tastes and Textures of “Surimi”|author=|date=2021-11-08|publisher=Nippon.com|accessdate=2025-07-09|lang=en}}</ref>

[[File:Medieval Kamaboko.jpg|thumb|A model of a 12th-century meal including the earliest known example of kamaboko.]]

There is no precise English translation for {{transliteration|ja|kamaboko}}. Rough equivalents are ''[[fish paste]]'', ''[[fish loaf]]'', ''[[fish cake]]'', and ''[[fish sausage]]''.<ref name="tsuji">{{cite book |last1=Tsuji |first1=Shizuo |title=Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art |url=https://archive.org/details/japanesecookings00tsuj |url-access=registration |date=1980 |publisher=Kodansha International |location=New York |page=69 |isbn=978-0-87011-399-4 |quote=In English it is variously called fish cake, fish loaf, fish paste, and fish sausage. None of these terms is really accurate. As with many different foods, the foreign word is the best to use.}}</ref> {{ill|Shizuo Tsuji|ja|辻静雄}}, chef and author, recommends using the Japanese name in English,<ref name="tsuji" /> similar to English usage of the word ''[[sushi]]''. {{transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}} has been made in Japan since the 14th century and is now available nearly worldwide. The simulated crab meat product {{transliteration|ja|[[crab stick|kanikama]]}} (short for {{transliteration|ja|kani-kamaboko}}) is the best-known form of {{transliteration|ja|surimi}} in the West.

Red-skinned and white {{transliteration|ja|kamaboko}} are typically served at celebratory and holiday meals, as red and white are considered to bring good luck. In Japan, the prepackaged snack {{transliteration|ja|chiikama}} (cheese plus {{transliteration|ja|kamaboko}}) is commonly sold in convenience stores. In the city of [[Uwajima]], a type of fried {{transliteration|ja|kamaboko}} called {{transliteration|ja|[[jakoten]]}} is popular. In [[Miyagi Prefecture]], {{Nihongo||笹かまぼこ|[[sasa-kamaboko]]}} is a regional {{transliteration|ja|kamaboko}} variation, pale white in colour, formed in the shape of bamboo leaves and often lightly grilled immediately prior to serving.

== Composition ==
[[File:TubOfSurimi.jpg|thumb|A tub of uncured fish [[surimi]] ready for finish-processing]]
[[File:Banshu deep-fried Kamaboko.JPG|thumb|Deep fried ''kamaboko'']]

=== Choice of fish ===
Early {{transliteration|ja|kamaboko}} was made with [[Ground meat|minced]] [[Amur catfish|catfish]] (''[[Silurus asotus]]'').

The [[whitefish (fisheries term)|whitefish]] used to make {{nihongo3|{{lit|ground meat}}|[[wikt:擂り身|擂り身]]|[[surimi]]}} include:

* Chicken grunt (''[[Parapristipoma|Parapristipoma trilineatum]]'')
* Golden threadfin bream (''[[Nemipterus virgatus]]'')
* Lizardfish (''[[Synodontidae]]'')
* Japanese gissu (''[[Pterothrissus gissu]]'')
* Various [[shark]] species (''[[Selachimorpha]]'')
* Alaska pollock (''[[Theragra chalcogramma]]'')
* White croaker (''[[Sciaenidae|Pennahia argentata]]'')
* Nibe croaker (''[[Sciaenidae|Nibea mitsukurii]]'')
* Daggertooth pike conger (''[[Muraenesox cinereus]]'')
* Gnomefish (''[[Scombrops boops]]'')
* [[Black bass]]
** Smallmouth bass (''[[Micropterus dolomieu]]'')
** Largemouth bass (''[[Micropterus salmoides]]'')
** Florida black bass (''[[Florida black bass|Micropterus floridanus]]'')

== {{Transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}} Day ==
[[File:おび天.jpg|thumb|''Obi-ten'', a type of fried ''kamaboko'']]
The {{Transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}} organization of Japan specified November 15 for {{Transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}} Day, established in 1983.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hara |first=Luiz |author-link= |date=October 16, 2018 |title=The Japanese Larder: Bringing Japanese Ingredients Into Your Everyday Cooking |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z_RyDwAAQBAJ|location= |publisher= [[White Lion Publishing]]|page=67 |isbn=9781781318836}}</ref>

==Outside Japan==
=== Hawaii ===
In [[Hawaii]], pink or red-skinned {{Transliteration|ja|kamaboko}} is readily available in grocery stores. It is a staple of ''[[saimin]]'', a popular noodle soup created in Hawaii from the blending of Chinese and Japanese ingredients. {{Transliteration|ja|Kamaboko}} is sometimes referred to as ''fish cake'' in English.

After [[World War II]], surplus [[Quonset hut]]s became popular as housing in Hawaii. They became known as "{{Transliteration|ja|kamaboko}} houses" due to the Quonset hut's half-cylindrical shape, similar to {{Transliteration|ja|kamaboko}}.<ref name=hierarchy>{{cite web|url=https://historichawaii.org/2013/12/28/the-kamaboko-house/|title=The Kamaboko House|publisher=Historic Hawaii Foundation|access-date=2017-07-21}}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Food}}
* {{Transliteration|ja|[[Chikuwa]]}} (grilled {{Transliteration|ja|surimi}})
* [[Fish ball]] (boiled {{Transliteration|ja|surimi}})
* {{Transliteration|ja|[[Hanpen]]}} (boiled {{Transliteration|ja|surimi}})
* {{Transliteration|ja|[[Satsuma age]]}} (deep-fried {{Transliteration|ja|surimi}})

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|kamaboko}}
*[https://www.kamaboko.com/en/kamaboko/ Suzuhiro Kamaboko - How to make ''Kamaboko'']

{{Japanese food and drink}}
{{fish sauce|state=expanded}}
{{seafood}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Japanese cuisine]]
[[Category:Surimi]]
[[Category:Japanese cuisine terms]]
[[Category:Food paste]]
[[Category:Japanese New Year foods]]