Ika Menchi (Coarse Squid and Vegetable Fritters)
Quick answer
- Total time
- 50 min
- Level
- Medium
- Servings
- 5 servings
- Ingredients
- 9
About this dish
Ika menchi is a home-style food from the Tsugaru region of Aomori.
Read more
Squid body, fins, and tentacles are chopped coarsely, mixed with cabbage, carrot, and onion, bound with wheat flour, and fried without breadcrumbs. The body is pulsed only until small pieces remain, while the tentacles are chopped by knife, giving the soft mixture distinct springy bites. Carrot is briefly heated to remove its raw firmness, and cabbage is cut into 5 mm pieces so its sweetness and texture remain noticeable. The seasoned mixture is shaped into ten patties and fried after the shishito peppers until the outside is brown and crisp and the squid is opaque through the center. The dish is said to have developed during food shortages after the war as a way to use squid legs left from sashimi and vegetable trimmings. It remains an everyday item in homes, markets, and prepared-food counters.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Prep
Separate the squid body and tentacles, remove the innards, eyes, and beak, rinse, and pat dry.
Cut the body and fins into pieces and pulse briefly until small pieces remain; coarsely chop the tentacles by knife.
- 2Prep
Finely chop the carrot, microwave it for 1 minute, and cool.
Chop the cabbage somewhat coarsely into 5 mm pieces and finely chop the onion.
- 3Season
Combine the squid, carrot, cabbage, and onion with the salt and pepper.
Add the flour in portions until the mixture holds its shape rather than flowing when pressed. Divide into 10 and shape into flat patties with lightly oiled hands.
- 4Heat
Heat the frying oil to 170°C in a deep pot.
Pierce each shishito so trapped steam cannot burst it, dry the surfaces completely, fry them briefly first, and drain.
- 5Heat
Fry the squid patties in batches in the same oil without crowding.
Turn them until evenly brown and crisp outside and the squid is opaque with a center temperature of at least 63°C.
- 6Finish
Drain the finished ika menchi thoroughly on a rack or paper.
Plate two patties and two shishito peppers per person and serve immediately while the exterior is crisp.
Practical Cooking Checks
The cues that matter most while cooking.
- Key technique
- Squid body is pulsed with pieces remaining while tentacles are coarsely chopped by knife.
- Finish cue
- Turn them until evenly brown and crisp outside and the squid is opaque with a center temperature of at least 63°C.
- Avoid this
- Dry the surfaces, keep wet utensils away, and do not add too many patties to the pot at once.
Cooking decision evidence
Calculated Charim data and applicable official food safety guidance.
This recipe
50min, 9 ingredients
Category median
30min, 8 ingredients
Based on 162 recipes
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