Arumado (Egg Wrapped in Fried Fish Cake)

Quick answer

Total time: 40 min
Level: Medium
Servings: 2 servings
Ingredients: 5

About this dish

Arumado is a Hirado specialty from Nagasaki made by tinting boiled eggs pale red, wrapping each whole egg evenly in white-fish paste, and frying it gently.

When halved, the yolk, red-edged white, and fish-cake layer form the dragon-eye cross section associated with this celebratory food. Drying the egg helps the paste cling, while low-temperature frying cooks the fish layer through before its exterior becomes too dark.

Ingredients (2 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
hard-boiled eggs	2	piece
seasoned white-fish surimi paste	80	g
frying oil	700	ml
red food coloring	1	drop
water	10	ml

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

4 steps

1

Heat

Dissolve 1 drop red food coloring fully in 10ml water.

Peel 2 hard-boiled eggs, roll them in the colored water until evenly pale red, and dry their surfaces thoroughly with paper towel.
2

Step

Divide 80g fish paste into two 40g portions and flatten each on damp palms into an 8mm-thick oval.

Place an egg in the center, pinch the seam completely closed, and smooth the surface evenly.
3

Heat

Heat 700ml oil in a deep pot to 160C.

Add the arumado one at a time and fry for 6 to 8 minutes, turning gently while keeping the oil between 155C and 160C. Remove when the center of the fish layer reaches 75C.
4

Finish

Drain on a rack and rest for 5 minutes so the coating sets.

Cut lengthwise into halves or quarters, arrange with the red-ringed cross section visible, and serve warm on the day it is made.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Whole boiled egg wrapped in fish paste
Finish cue: Drain on a rack and rest for 5 minutes so the coating sets.
Storage and reheating: Keep the fish paste refrigerated until needed; cold paste adheres to the egg and shapes more easily.