3 Quick and Easy Appetizers (5 Ingredient or Less)

3 quick and easy last-minute appetizers (Shichimi togarashi miso cheeseball, sushi-style spicy crab with crackers and spicy Korean deviled eggs) made with 5 ingredients that can be made in under 20 minutes each!

Thank you to Zehrs for supporting this 'Last Minute Appetizers' recipe post. I'm thankful and appreciate the support we receive, which helps keep this little blog running! All opinions expressed, recipes and photos are my own. 

The holidays can be a time of joy or stress around here, but eating is definitely the best part. However, that doesn't mean I want to be the kitchen the entire time - especially when I have friends and family over. For occasions like these, I like making quick (20 minutes or less) and easy (5 ingredients) appetizers that require little to no cooking at all. No one needs to know how easy they really are, especially when they are loaded with umami flavour bombs ingredients!

Coming up with these appetizers was a fun challenge and although it's a hectic time of the month, I still enjoy strolling down the aisles at my local Zehrs with Terry for these recipe creations. I tend to discover a lot of new and cool ingredients and products that I never would have found otherwise. This is the time when the food lover and food tinkerer in us really comes out! 😀

SHICHIMI TOGARASHI MISO CHEESE BALL

The first appetizer is a must if you and your guests love cheese. It's loaded with umami flavours from the red miso, has a hint of garlickiness with thinly sliced green onions and shichimi togarashi spice. It is then coated in more shichimi togarashi spice for extra flavour and colour.

INGREDIENTS FOR SHICHIMI TOGARASHI MISO CHEESEBALL

• Cream Cheese - I like to use full-fat cream cheese for this recipe.
• Garlic - For this recipe, if you want a mild garlic flavour - use 1 garlic clove. If you are a garlic lover, use 2 garlic cloves. Make sure you grate the garlic finely so that it is not in large chunks, this will help the garlic flavour spread better through the cheeseball and people won't be biting into chunks of garlic.
• Green Onions - Standard green onions. I use this to give it a bit of flavour as well as a bit of texture.
• Miso - For this cheeseball, I like using red miso (akamiso) because I find it has a more robust and stronger flavour. You can use any type of miso you like though.
• Shichimi Togarashi Spice - When shopping for this particular spice blend, make sure there is no salt in it since it will make your cheeseball incredibly salty and inedible. The miso will provide enough salt for the cheeseball.

TIPS & TRICKS ON HOW TO FORM THE CHEESEBALL

• Use a spatula and push all the cheese into the center of the bowl.

• Get a large piece of plastic wrap, and put the cheese in the center

• Gather the 4 corners of the plastic wrap carefully and bunch it up together at the top making sure no cheese is leaking out. Then twist the plastic wrap at the top until you form a ball. Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes (or in the freezer for 10).
• When you are ready to roll the ball, grease your hands, and roll the ball in the shichimi togarashi spice. If not serving it right away keep it in the fridge wrapped with saran wrap (do not roll in spice yet). Wait until you are are ready to serve it, then roll it in the spice.
• Serve with a small knife so people can spread the cheese onto their crackers instead of dunking it into the ball.

SUSHI-STYLE SPICY CRAB DIP

If your guests are sushi fans, try making this sushi-style spicy crab dip that can be eaten with crackers. It's meant to mimic the flavours of the spicy salmon in sushi! If you're comfortable handling and serving raw salmon, I would definitely substitute the crab with the raw salmon for more of the spicy salmon sushi flavours. However, if you plan to keep this out for long periods of time at room temperature then I would stick to using the imitation crab instead for food safety reasons.

INGREDIENTS FOR SUSHI-STYLE SPICY CRAB DIP

• Imitation Crab - You can use the imitation crab that comes in a lump or stick form. Lump crab meat will give you a chunkier texture and the stick form can be hand-shredded into thin pieces. I personally like using both at the same time to give it a better overall texture, but you can pick one over the other with no issues.
• Mayonnaise - I like to use Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise for this because I find it has a lot more flavour (probably from the MSG). If you can't find it, you can substitute this with regular mayonnaise, like Hellmans. Do not use Miracle Whip in this recipe - Miracle Whip has a sweeter flavour, which will produce a sweeter dip.
• Sriracha - I like to use Sriracha on this recipe because of the balance of the spice and garlic flavour. You can try substituting it with Sambal Oelek but I personally find  that it doesn't have the heat, garlickiness and it is too sour compared to Sriracha.
• Cayenne - Do not skip putting cayenne pepper in this recipe. It really adds a lot of flavour to the spicy mayonnaise. If you are worried about it being too spicy, use ¼ teaspoon of cayenne first and do a taste test - if it's not spicy enough add another ¼ teaspoon and do another taste test.
• Green Onions - Standard green onions to bright up the flavour of the dip.

TIPS & TRICKS FOR PREPARING THE IMITATION CRAB MEAT

• If you are using the lump crab meat, I like to use my fingers to break and smush it up into small tiny pieces. Then I take a knife and cut through the pile of smushed crab pieces for a finer texture. If you are using crab sticks, I like to cut them into 1-inch length pieces and hand shred it into thin strands. For the best texture, I like to combine both the small lumps and the thin strands together.
• For the green onions, cut them any way you like but make sure you cut them finely. If you want to cut a few lengthwise for a garnish, soak them in cold water right after you thinly slice them. The green onions should curl up, making a more interesting shape.
• I like to pre-mix all the sauce ingredients together before mixing the crab and green onions into it so that it has a consistent smooth saucy flavour throughout the dip.

SPICY KOREAN DEVILED EGGS

This appetizer will require a bit of cooking (boiling the eggs) but can be done in less than 20 minutes. The cooked yolks will be made into a creamy filling mixed with Japanese kewpie mayonnaise, a bit of sesame oil and gochujang paste which will give the filling a bit of a sweet and salty flavour with a hint of nuttiness.

INGREDIENTS FOR SPICY KOREAN DEVILED EGGS

• Eggs - I like to use large eggs for this recipe
• Gochujang - This ingredient is a must for this recipe. It gives the yolks a bit of spiciness and a lot of great flavours.
• Mayonnaise - I like to use Japanese kewpie mayonnaise for the recipe because of the extra flavour from the MSG but you can substitute it with regular mayonnaise, like Hellmans.
• Toasted Sesame Oil - This ingredient shouldn't be skipped. It gives the yolks a really nice nutty flavour combined with the gochujang.
• Green Onions - Standard green onions, which will be finely chopped and added to the filling for a bit of texture and some flavour.

TIPS & TRICKS ON PEELING AND PREPARING THE HARD BOILED EGGS

• If you overcook the eggs, the yolks will be drier, and you may need to add more mayonnaise to make it creamier.
• To easily peel hard-boiled eggs, make sure you shock the eggs right after you boil it with very cold or ice water. Once the eggs have cooled, crack it on the counter and run it under cool tap water while you are peeling it. The water runs under the membrane while you are peeling, helping it come off a lot easier.
• Once the yolk filling is done, you can use a Ziploc (or frosting bag) and pipe them back into the egg. I personally find it easier to use a small spoon to heap the yolks back into the egg whites. It gives it a more rustic look and if you garnish with black sesame and green onions no one will notice the imperfections! 🙂 I do recommend cleaning up any edges to form a round yolk look with a wet finger.
• If you made the filling ahead of time,  don't place the yok back into the egg until the day you are serving it. Make sure the egg whites and the egg yolk filling are very well-sealed so that nothing dries out. I like to wrap the egg yolk with plastic wrap to avoid air getting in, which can dry out the yolk.

DID YOU MAKE THESE 5 INGREDIENT APPETIZERS?

If you made these appetizers, I want to see! Follow Pups with Chopsticks on Instagram, snap a photo, and tag and hashtag it with @pupswithchopsticks and #pupswithchopsticks. I love to know what you are making!

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Recipe Card

3 Quick and Easy 5 Ingredient Appetizers

3 quick and easy Asian inspired last-minute appetizers made with 5 ingredients that can be made in under 20 minutes each!

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5 from 1 vote

Made with ♡ by Joyce

Joyce's Recipe Notes

• You can substitute kewpie mayonaise with regular mayonaise (like Hellmans), but do not substitute it with Miracle Whip - Miracle Whip has a sweet flavour to it.

SHICHIMI TOGARASHI MISO CHEESE BALL NOTES

• If you find togarashi seasoning too spicy, you can substitute it with furikake instead, but make sure it does not have salt in it.
• I found red miso (akamiso) to be the most flavourful one to use in this cheeseball, but if you can't find it you can use yellow or white miso in this as well (Shiromiso or Awasemiso)

SUSHI STYLE SPICY CRAB DIP NOTES

• If you want the crab to have a chunkier texture, use the crab chunks. If you like a more stringy texture, use the crab sticks and shred it. I personally find mixing the 2 of them create the most texture.

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Ingredients

 

TOGARASHI MISO CHEESEBALL INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 1 block of cream cheese 250g
• ▢ 1 tablespoon red miso see note below
• ▢ 3 stalks green onions small stalks, approx. ⅓ cup
• ▢ 1 large garlic clove approx. 1 teaspoon. Use 2 large garlic cloves for a garlicker cheeseball
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons shichimi togarashi seasoning make sure there is no salt in it, this will be mixed in with the cheese
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoons shichimi togarashi seasoning make sure there is no salt in it, this will be used to coat the cheeseball

SUSHI STYLE SPICY CRAB DIP INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 1 cup immitation crab chunks or sticks, see notes
• ▢ ¼ cup Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise
• ▢ 1 ½ tablespoons Sriracha chili sauce
• ▢ cayenne pepper use ¼ teaspoon for mild or ½ teaspoon for spicy

SPICY KOREAN DEVILED EGGS INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 6 eggs large
• ▢ 3 tablespoons Japanese Kewpie Mayonnaise
• ▢ 2 ½ teaspoons gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• ▢ 1 stalk of green onions approx. 2-3 tablespoons

Instructions

 

TOGARASHI MISO CHEESEBALL INSTRUCTIONS

• Leave the block of cream cheese out in room temperature to soften it.
• Once the cheese has soften, place the cheese, miso and 1 ½ teaspoon of shichimi togarashi into a bowl.
• Finely chop the green onions and place in the bowl with the cheese
• Grate the garlic and place in the bowl with the cheese. Make sure you grate it or very finely chop it so there are no big chunks of garlic in the cheeseball.
• Once everything is in the bowl, use a hand mixer (or fork) and smash everything together until it is mixed well.
• Once everything is mixed well, use a spatula and scrape all the cheese into the centre of the bowl to form a mound.
• Get a large piece of plastic wrap and place it on a table and put the mound of cheese in the center of the plastic wrap.
• Carefully lift all 4 corners of the plastic wrap and bundle the cheese into a ball within the plastic wrap. Twist the top of the plastic wrap to secure it into a ball.
• Place it in the fridge for 20 minutes (or freezer for 10 minutes).
• Once you are ready to serve it, put a few tablespoons of shichimi togarshi onto a plate and remove cheese ball from the plastic wrap onto the seasoning.
• Grease your hands and slowly roll the cheeseball over the spice until it is well coated.
• Serve with a side of crackers.

SUSHI STYLE SPICY CRAB DIP INSTRUCTIONS

• Mix the mayonnase, sriracha and cayenne together in a bowl until everything is well combined and smooth
• If you are using the lump crab meat, use your fingers to break them apart into smaller pieces and then chop it with a knife a few times until you get it to the chunkiness you like. If you are using the crab sticks, cut them into 1-inch length pieces and hand-shred them into thin pieces. I like to use both types of crab meat and mix them together for better more interesting texture.
• Place the crab meat into the bowl with the sauce.
• Finely chop the green onions and place it in the bowl with the crab.
• Mix everything well and place it in a serving bowl.
• Garnish with green onions. If you want to cut the onions lengthwise like I have in the photos, make sure you cut them thin and soak them in icy cold water to make them curl for a more interesting shaped garnish.
• Serve with a side of crackers.

SPICY KOREAN DEVILED EGGS INSTRUCTIONS

• Place the eggs into a pot into a single layer and fill it with cold water.
• Place the pot on the stove on high heat, and wait for the water to vigrously boil (do not leave and make sure to watch it.)
• Once the water starts to boil, set a timer for 6 minutes.
• While the eggs are boiling, use a small bowl and mix the sesame oil, gochujang and mayonaise together until it is mixed well and smooth. Set aside
• Once 6 minutes is up the eggs are done. Run really cold water over the eggs to shock the eggs to stop the cooking process. You can also add ice to the pot while the cold water is running as well.
• Once the eggs have cooled, crack it throughly and run cool tap water over it while you peel it.
• Once you have peeled all the eggs, slice them in half. Remove the yolks and add it into the bowl with the mixed sauce. Use a fork and smash everything together until it is mixed well (don't worry if it's a little clumpy, it will still taste great and you wont notice it once you mix the green onions in)
• Finely chop the green onions and mix it with the yolk filling. Mix well.
• Use a small spoon and scoop the yolk fililng back into the egg whites (you can also use a ziploc or frosting bag to pipe the yolks into the egg whites as well.)
• Garnish with green onions. If you cut the garnish green onions length wise, soak it in a bit of icy cold water to make them curl a bit to make them a more interesting shape.
• Enjoy!

*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*

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