History

Chikuwa pan was invented in 1983 by the founders of Donguri bakery on Odori, looking for a way to use chikuwa (a Japanese fish cake tube) in a bakery context. The bread became the city's signature bakery item within a decade; Donguri now sells around 2,300 a day across its nine Sapporo branches. The pan is also a souvenir export to Tokyo and Osaka through department-store food halls, although Sapporo's version stays the canonical bake.

Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Fish, Soy

Make it at home

Yield Makes 6 loavesHands-on 40 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 300g bread flour
  • 30g sugar
  • 5g salt
  • 5g instant yeast
  • 200ml whole milk, warm
  • 30g unsalted butter
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 6 chikuwa tubes (Japanese fish cake)
  • 1 small tin tuna in oil, drained
  • 4 tbsp mayonnaise
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped onion
  • Black pepper
  • More mayonnaise for topping
  • Sesame seeds

Method

  1. Mix flour, sugar, salt and yeast in a stand mixer with the dough hook.
  2. Add warm milk and butter; knead 8 minutes until smooth.
  3. Cover and prove 60 minutes in a warm place; the dough should double.
  4. Mix tuna, mayonnaise and onion with black pepper; stuff each chikuwa tube tightly.
  5. Divide dough into 6 portions. Flatten each into an oval; lay a stuffed chikuwa across the centre.
  6. Wrap dough up over the chikuwa, sealing the seam underneath. Place on a baking tray.
  7. Brush with beaten egg, top with extra mayonnaise zig-zags and sesame seeds.
  8. Prove 30 minutes more; meanwhile heat oven to 190C. Bake 18-20 minutes until golden brown.
  9. Eat warm.

Tip from the editors. Slightly underfill the chikuwa with tuna mayo; the salt expands as it bakes.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat chikuwa pan (fish-cake bread)

Chikuwa Pan (Fish-Cake Bread) in Sapporo

Donguri Odori ★ 4.2

odori

Donguri's hot rack runs 200-400 yen per bread: chikuwa pan, Hokkaido potato bread, curry pan and a dozen others. Stand-out cheap eats at Odori Park.

Try: Chikuwa pan and Hokkaido potato bread

Tip: Eat warm on the Odori Park benches; buy two more for the train.

Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0042, Japan

Donguri Susukino ★ 4.1

susukinoDaily 09:00-22:00Walk-in onlySapporo's chikuwa pan and curry pan

Donguri's Susukino arcade branch, open later than the Odori shop with the same chikuwa-pan menu plus an extended evening curry-pan and pizza-pan line.

Tip: Curry pan stays warm in the hot case until 22:00; the late-night snack of the city.

Worth the queue: Chikuwa pan

Chuo-ku, Sapporo 060-0063, Japan

More cities are in research. Want chikuwa pan (fish-cake bread) covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.

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