is a fried

fishcake A fishcake (sometimes written as fish cake) is a culinary dish consisting of filleted fish or other seafood minced or ground, mixed with a starchy ingredient, and fried until golden. Asian-style fishcakes usually contain fish with salt, water, ...

originating from

Kagoshima , abbreviated to , is the capital city of Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Located at the southwestern tip of the island of Kyushu, Kagoshima is the largest city in the prefecture by some margin. It has been nicknamed the "Naples of the Eastern wor ...

, Japan. Surimi and flour is mixed to make a compact paste that is solidified through frying. It is a specialty of the

Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...

region. It is known by a variety of regional names throughout Japan. The paste is made from fish and seasoned with salt, sugar, and other spices and molded into several shapes. It is made not only from ground fish but can include

wood ear Wood-ear or tree ear (, Korean: 목이 버섯), also translated wood jellyfish or , can refer to a few similar-looking edible fungi used primarily in Chinese cuisine; these are commonly sold in Asian markets shredded and dried. * ''Auricularia he ...

, beni shōga, onion, Welsh onion and other vegetables, squid, octopus, shrimp and other sea foods, and some spices. In fishing villages, it is made from local fishes, for example sardines, shark, bonito or mackerel. it is often made by mixing two or more kinds of fish. People eat Satsuma-age plain or lightly roasted and dipped in ginger and soy sauce or mustard and soy sauce. It is used in

oden is a type of nabemono (Japanese one-pot dishes), consisting of several ingredients such as boiled eggs, daikon, konjac, and processed fishcakes stewed in a light, soy-flavored dashi broth. Oden was originally what is now commonly ca ...

udon Udon ( or ) is a thick noodle made from wheat flour, used in Japanese cuisine. It is a comfort food for many Japanese people. There are a variety of ways it is prepared and served. Its simplest form is in a hot soup as with a mild broth called ...

sara udon Sara udon in Nagasaki.jpg, Served with thick noodles in Nagasaki 餃子の王将皿うどん (4580922222).jpg, ''sara-udon''( Gyoza no Ohsho) リンガーハット (51281316427).jpg, Ringer Hut , literally "plate noodles" is a dish native to N ...

nimono is a simmered dish in Japanese cuisine. A nimono generally consists of a base ingredient simmered in ''shiru'' stock & seasoned with sake, soy sauce, and a small amount of sweetening. The nimono is simmered in the shiru over a period of time un ...

(stewed dishes).

Composition

Commonly Satsuma-age used

cod Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus '' Gadus'', belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is commonly not call ...

as a filling; however, as cod stocks have been depleted other varieties of white fish are used, such as

haddock The haddock (''Melanogrammus aeglefinus'') is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus ''Melanogrammus''. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas wher ...

or whiting. Satsuma-age may use

oily fish Oily fish are fish species with oil (fats) in soft tissues and in the coelomic cavity around the gut. Their fillets may contain up to 30% oil, although this figure varies both within and between species. Examples of oily fish include smal ...

such as

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family Salmonidae, which are native to tributaries of the North Atlantic (genus ''Salmo'') and North Pacific (genus '' Oncorhy ...

for a markedly different flavour. The

fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...

used to make surimi (

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

: 擂り身, literally "

ground meat Ground meat, called mince or minced meat outside North America, is meat finely chopped by a meat grinder or a chopping knife. A common type of ground meat is ground beef, but many other types of meats are prepared in a similar fashion, incl ...

") include: * Alaska pollock (''

Theragra chalcogramma The Alaska pollock or walleye pollock (''Gadus chalcogrammus'') is a marine fish species of the cod genus ''Gadus'' and family Gadidae. It is a semi-pelagic schooling fish widely distributed in the North Pacific, with largest concentrations fo ...

'') * Lizardfish ('' Synodontidae'') * White croaker ('' Pennahia argentata'') * Daggertooth pike conger (''

Muraenesox cinereus The daggertooth pike conger (''Muraenesox cinereus'') also known as the darkfin pike eel in Ozzyland, to distinguish it from the related pike-eel (''Muraenesox bagio''), is a species of eel in the pike conger family, Muraenesocidae. They prim ...

'') * Japanese Spanish mackerel ('' Scomberomorus niphonius'') * Flying fish (''

Exocoetidae The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird ...

'') * Various

sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

species (''

Sardine "Sardine" and "pilchard" are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring family Clupeidae. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century, a folk etymology says it comes from the It ...

'') * Various

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachi ...

species ('' Selachimorpha'') * Skipjack tuna ('' Katsuwonus pelamis'') * Various mackerel species ('' Mackerel'') * Okhotsk atka mackerel ('' Pleurogrammus azonus'') *

Tilapia Tilapia ( ) is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the coelotilapine, coptodonine, heterotilapine, oreochromine, pelmatolapiine, and tilapiine tribes (formerly all were "Tilapiini"), with the economically most ...

** ''

Oreochromis mossambicus ''Oreochromis'' is a large genus of oreochromine cichlids, fishes endemic to Africa and the Middle East. A few species from this genus have been introduced far outside their native range and are important in aquaculture. Many others have ver ...

'' ** ''

Oreochromis niloticus niloticus The Nile tilapia (''Oreochromis niloticus'') is a species of tilapia, a cichlid fish native to the northern half of Africa and the Levante area, including Israel, and Lebanon. Numerous introduced populations exist outside its natural range. It i ...

'' *

Black bass Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

** Smallmouth bass ('' Micropterus dolomieu'') ** Largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') ** Florida black bass (''Florida black bass, Micropterus floridanus'')

History

There are varied histories of Satsuma-age, but the most famous birthplace is the Satsuma District, Kagoshima, Satsuma district in

. It is said that, in about 1864, the Shimazu clan brought it to Satsuma from Okinawa through some exchange and invasion. In those days, Okinawans called fried-boiled fish paste chigiage. After it was brought to Kagoshima, it was produced as tsukiage and selected as one of the best 100 local dishes.

Regional names

Depending on the region, the dish is known under different names. In Tōhoku and the Kantō region it is called "Satsuma-age" after its place of origin in Kagoshima. In the Chubu region it is known as "Hanpen". Hokkaido and west Japan people call it "Tempura" (different from Tempura). In Kyushu and Okinawa, this dish is called "Tempura", "Tsukeage" or "Chikiagi".

Varieties

*Hiraten (ひら天): flat satsuma age *Maruten (丸天): Satsuma-age like a thin disk. People in Kyushu, mainly Fukuoka, eat them with

. *Gobouten (ごぼう天, :ja:ごぼう巻き, ごぼう巻き): Satsuma-age wrapped around burdock-like sticks. *Ikaten (いか天): Satsuma-age wrapped around squid tentacles. *Takoten (たこ天): Satsuma-age wrapped around cut octopus. There is a kind of ball shaped like takoyaki. *Tamanegiten (タマネギ天): with onion. *Bakudan (爆弾, 'Bomb'): Satsuma-age which wrapped around a boiled egg (food), egg *Honeku (ほねく), honeten: These are short versions of honekuri-tempura. This is a local dish in north Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama. Whole cutlass fish (Largehead hairtail:Trichiurus lepturus) are ground and fried. They have a unique smell. *Jakoten (じゃこ天) is a special product of Uwajima in southern Ehime prefecture. Jakoten has a long history, having been eaten since the Edo period. It is made from small fish caught nearby that are blended into a paste and then fried. *Gansu (:ja:がんす, がんす) (local dish in Hiroshima) is a fry made of breaded ground whitefish (fisheries term), whitefish and a kind of cutlet.

Outside Japan

*In Korea, the term for satsuma-age is eomuk (어묵) or simply odeng. Large cities like Busan and Seoul sell these products as street food during winter and fall seasons. *In Taiwan, satsuma-age is sold as ''tianbula'' (). It was introduced to Taiwan Taiwan under Japanese rule, under Japanese rule by people from Kyushu, where satsuma-age is commonly known as ''tempura''. It is often used as an ingredient for

, hot pot and lou mei, lu wei. *Similar dishes exist in Vietnam.

References

External links

Serving History Satsuma Age
{{DEFAULTSORT:Satsuma Age Deep fried foods Japanese cuisine Korean cuisine Surimi Taiwanese cuisine