Kewpie Mayonnaise, Chinese Celery, and Hot Pepper Tuna
I apologize for what I’m about to show you. Because it may scare you a little like it did me.
You may be thinking, “What’s the big deal, Cindy? It’s just a plastic bottle of mayonnaise.” Oh yeah?
What about this Kewpie doll image? If the doll could talk, can’t you imagine it saying something like, “Ma-ma, I want a hug. Hug me, ma-ma.”?
Once the packaging with the kind-of-creepy doll image is removed, you get a bottle that’s convenient to grip and squeeze. Out comes a thin strand of tangy, creamy, and rich mayonnaise quite different in taste than American-style ones.
Or you can unscrew the cap to reveal the star-shaped inner opening, and have fun squirting the mayonnaise into different shapes, much like you would with a pastry bag and frosting.
Like this shape.
And this one.
Since it was only my second time trying this condiment, the first being on sandwich bread, I wanted to use it with something familiar again.
This is where Chinese Celery comes in.
This vegetable has a stronger celery taste than the regular kind. What I really like about it, though, is how thin its stalks are. They’re a great size to dice, resulting in perfect celery pieces to use in salads. (I don’t know about you, but whenever I use regular celery to make potato, egg, chicken, or tuna salad, I always have leftover stalks that I end up eventually throwing away. I don’t really have a problem using up this celery.)
You can also cut the stalks into short pieces and use them in stir-fries and soups.
Okay, so now we’ve got Japanese mayonnaise and Chinese celery.
How about some Korean Hot Pepper Tuna?
Can you practically taste the spiciness?
Because the tuna is spicy, as well as fishy and really strongly flavored. I recommend eating it with something bland to offset the powerful flavors. (I think the can of tuna also had pieces of daikon—an Asian radish—in it, although it wasn’t listed as an ingredient.)
If I haven’t lost you yet by this point (because trying to follow my train of thought…well, that can be a scary thing), you can probably guess what I made with these three ingredients.
Hot Pepper Tuna Salad. The overall taste was…interesting. The mayonnaise tempered the heat of the tuna and the celery added a fresh crunch.
But I focused mostly on the tuna because its flavor was still so strong. And since I wasn’t too fond of it to begin with, this salad was a fail.
Let’s move onto more pleasant topics, shall we? What do you like to make with Kewpie mayonnaise?
I mainly use kewpie mayo when I make okonomiyaki, but I also like it mixed with sriracha and chilli power (sometimes Togarashi) and a dash of rice vinegar to make spicy mayo. Kewpie definitely has a different ‘mayo’ taste than hellmanns mayo.
I don’t know about the tuna but I’m intrigued with the mayo.
I’ve never had the hot pepper tuna before. But after years of working for an Hawaiian Fusion restaurant (Roy’s) I became addicted to Kewpie mayo. They use it for all their mayo needs.
Who mentioned Okonomayaki?!
Oooh! The hubs and I LOVE Kewpie mayo! We like to use it when we make sushi. We make tuna or salmon (or whatever else we can get our hands on) rolls and then slice them and then put a tiny dot of the mayo on the top of each piece. It’s heavenly. I love that the top of the bottle is star shaped so you get pretty mayo.
*Gasp!* Kewpie Mayonnaise! It’s always a pleasant surprise when you feature something I know. I like to make tuna sandwiches with it. (Haha, no imagination). There’s this reeeeally yummy Japanese tuna that I like that comes in a tiny can and is packed with oil (versus water. Tuna packed with oil always tastes better, health factors be damned!) I also use celery, tomato, onion, pepper…The usual things and it’s really good with that Japanese tuna! (Hmm, looking it up, I’m pretty sure it’s the one called: Inaba Tuna Flake).
http://www.sixthseal.com/archive/May2006/inaba_tuna_flake_can.jpg
http://www.sixthseal.com/archive/May2006/inaba_tuna_flake_open.jpg
Soooo….delicious. If you ever see that tuna on sale, you MUST buy it. And then thank me later.
Also, there’s this pickled thing. Tsukemono. It’s long and yellow, crunchy. I’m pretty sure it’s pickled Daikon Radish. I love it in potato salad. Absolutely bomb. I’m not a fan of apples in potato salad though. I always think it’s a chunk of potato because it’s the same color, and then I’m disappointed. I’m also not a fan of apples in curry. Though that’s just me. I guess I like my sweets separate.
Found this pic online of the pickled yellow stuff I like:
http://pics.livejournal.com/chubbypanda/pic/00475tph
Also, back to that mayonnaise, I remember way back in the day (I was probably in Middle School) I loved that Japanese mayo and used to eat it just with lettuce. And in the future, I tried lettuce and mayo again and was sourly disappointed because it was American mayo! I was all confused because I remembered the mayo and lettuce combo being delicious but that was because it was Japanese mayo! (And now Kewpie is the only mayo we buy.)
Oh! And I remember my dad bringing back airline food (you know how they always give you packets of peanuts or mixed nuts with maybe some small dried fish.) and some of the pieces had little dobs of mayo on them and I swear it must have been the same kind. I really wish I knew what it was called. I think it had slivered almonds and the little dried fish, in the picture on the front of the packet, it’s eye is glowing gold.
Also, I like this stuff:
http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/royalkitchen7.jpg
It’s shrimp flavored and you can find them in asian aisles as unfried disks in multiple colors like pink, green, white, yellow (which you’ll have to fry yourself later. Deep fry so it’s unhealthy, but who talks healthy here anyway right?)
Ahh…Kewpie Mayo! Another staple in my mom’s fridge. She uses is on sandwiches and also, occasionally, on sushi.
Bianca-san
My: I’ve never had okonomiyaki. From some photos I found of it online, it looks yummy! So does your spicy mayo; I’ve just need to get the chilli powder to make it.
Juju: I say skip the tuna and try the mayo. Apparently, it’s all about the mayo!
Dandy: I’ve had a three-days-straight addiction so far. Did the restaurant use it in the same or similar way as My’s spicy mayo? Such a mix seems like it’d be great on top of sushi, as well as as a dipping sauce for fish and tempura.
Pademelon: I added a few photos of the star-shaped inner opening and mayonnaise shapes to the post. I was in such a haste to photograph all four items, I forgot to take photos of those things. Thanks for the reminder! And I’m totally going to put a dollop of the mayonnaise on the sushi I get the next time from takeout or the supermarket—yes, that was whispered.
Lian: Are you saying that I feature unhealthy things on this site? Because that’s true for only about 70 percent of those things.
I’ve haven’t tried the tuna fish, but I have eaten the daikon radish and shrimp chips. I guess I’ll have to try the radish with potato salad because I’m not crazy about how it tastes on its own. And I didn’t know you had to deep-fry the chips yourself.
Bianca-san: I’ve made sandwiches with the mayo three days in a row. Next item to use it on—sushi!
Thanks, everyone, for your mayo suggestions and tips! I’ve been keeping a mental list of items and recipes, but I’m going to have to start writing stuff down.
Oh, those shrimp chip things come in the already made and the make it yourself version. So you can buy a bag of already fried ones. I just remember my mom frying them when I was little. But that was just one time. And this site is like, all about the snacks! Haha
Kewpie is nothing new here, it’s used to make California rolls. Tastes pretty eggy on it’s own.
I use an okonomiyaki mix to make mine because I’m a little lazy…haha (I also have made it with tempura flour and it seems like an okay substitute). It’s basically the flour, dashi stock, an egg, shredded cabbage, and whatever toppings you want in your okonomiyaki. But you can try to make it the real osaka way! I found this recipe: http://www.justhungry.com/okonomiyaki-osaka-style
=) you should try it and post it up!
Kelli: Kewpie mayo is another one of those things I’d seen at markets for years before finally trying (because of this site).
My: Heh, if I ever make okonomiyaki it’d be using a mix, too. I don’t post cooking photos because I don’t really consider myself a cook, and I don’t have the proper kitchen facilities nor confidence.
You know what Kewpie mayo taste really good with?? Ramen.. Hell ya.. seriously.. My friend discovered this and I was like wtf.. no way dude.. that’s gross.. but I tried it.. of course it’s dried ramen with all it’s flavoring and spices mixed into it.. it’s great.. it’s my comfort food.
Proudy: Ha, now there’s a combination I’ve never considered but just may try. I will, very occasionally, cook ramen with the seasonings and sans soup, like you do, and add Spam. I just started adding the mayonnaise to sushi like Pademelon suggested, and it’s delicious this way!