Reformed fish paste has never looked so good.
Chikuwa, literally meaning “bamboo rings” because of their shape and the traditional way of making them, are a cheap and cheerful way of filling out meals in Japan. They are made from ground-up fish paste, salt, sugar, starch and egg whites. That may sound like something best avoided, or burnt and the ashes buried in a lead-lined box, but actually they’re surprisingly tasty.
▼ Chikuwa in its most common state
They are also the latest thing to be used in making lunch boxes too beautiful to eat. They are perfect for this latest batch of chara–ben to surface on the internet, and even if the ingredients may not be everyone’s cup of tea, visually they can make for an extremely cute lunch.
▼ With little sausage tentacles
.
— ゆか (@880_okg) June 29, 2016
ちくわ星人 参上!
. pic.twitter.com/3arhPVReUg
▼ Sporting green afros, and with something suspicious-looking in their hair that reminds me of a video I saw once…
でもちくわ星人の写真もアップしちゃうよ。今日でしばらくお別れ。またね。 pic.twitter.com/DGeirJdAN7
— NanaAkua(ナナアクヤ) (@NanaAkua) July 5, 2016
▼ If you kind of squint a bit, they look like hearts!
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/786334902299955200▼ How could you eat something that looks so cute? Easily.
ちくわんこ(●´ω`●) お母さん、ありがとう… pic.twitter.com/USSMJPUgxj
— uconeco (@uco_neco) December 16, 2015
▼ Puppies, with a Tsum-Tsum vibe
https://twitter.com/jetpack/status/729278819320758272▼ The Chikuwa have provided this ram with horns
あ!先週クックパッドで可愛かった羊ご飯作ったんだった!
— あやの (@5196aya) October 10, 2016
可愛かった… pic.twitter.com/NlH5psPcoT
Given the size of the ingredients needed to provide the eyes, or even the beaks of the next two images, someone doesn’t have the shaky-hands of an eight-cups-of-tea-a-day writer.
◎今日のお弁当
— らぶ@ (@love196612) June 21, 2016
ちくわ鳥を作ってみた。
今朝、作るのがめちゃ楽しかった💕
キャラ弁にハマったりして😆(笑)
社会人の娘にもちくわ鳥を
入れてやった😆🎶
LINEが来て
やられたって(笑)
今度は旦那にも作ってやろう😆 pic.twitter.com/saterk6U1j
ちくわ鳥さん、作ったよ💕 pic.twitter.com/RbvxRreF6r
— ラムラム31 (@amh9t) June 22, 2016
At around 50 yen (US$0.44) for a pack of four, chikuwa are perfect for the budget-conscious bento artist. Let’s hope they taste as good as they look.
Source: Matome Naver
Image: Wikipedia/Lombroso
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