We can thank Vic Bergeron — owner of Trader Vic's restaurant, in San Francisco — for bringing rumaki into mainstream dining culture. He claimed that this delicious hors d'oeuvre came from Hawaii, with Chinese roots and a Japanese name.
Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 1 1/2 hr
Ingredients
Makes 24 hors d'oeuvres
Special Equipment
Preparation
Step 1
Cut chicken livers into 24 (roughly 1/2-inch) pieces. Stir together soy sauce, ginger, brown sugar, and curry powder. Add livers and water chestnuts and toss to coat. Marinate, covered and chilled, 1 hour.
Step 2
While livers marinate, soak toothpicks in cold water 1 hour. Drain well.
Step 3
Preheat broiler.
Step 4
Remove livers and chestnuts from marinade and discard marinade. Place 1 piece of bacon on a work surface and put 1 piece of liver and 1 chestnut in center. Wrap bacon around liver and chestnut and secure with a toothpick. Make 23 more rumaki in same manner.
Step 5
Broil rumaki on rack of a broiler pan 2 inches from heat, turning once, until bacon is crisp and livers are cooked but still slightly pink inside (unwrap 1 to check for doneness), 5 to 6 minutes. Serve immediately.
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Reviews (17)
Back to TopI was a regular at Trader Vic’s in Beverly Hills. How I miss it but, this recipe is spot on. 😋
Livin Outloud
Beverly Hills, California
4/25/2023
Roumaki is always a hit (except for those squeamish about chicken livers!). I like to add a 1/4 of a pitted prune to the liver and water chestnut. I also add some sherry to the marinade.
Miloutintin
Southern California
11/21/2019
I made this for our supper club and it was devoured. Cleaning the liver is the worst part, but the result is worth it. I doubled the recipe and honest, I could have made more!
sweetiepetitti
memphis
2/25/2018
Wow!! Excellent!! I'm not sure exactly what ingredient(s) make the difference, but this earned RAVES from my family!! I added crushed garlic and used half brown sugar, half honey. I also use bigger pieces of chicken livers because I had a lot (I doubled the recipe ingredients for over a pound of livers). I also ran out of water chestnuts for so many rumaki, so added sliced celery to distribute crispness. They warm up wonderfully so everybody's enjoying again. This is now my official rumaki recipe!! So happy!! Thank you for curry and fresh ginger!
Anonymous
Western Illinois
12/10/2016
Oh, is this good! I live alone, made my usual rumaki for our family's Christmas Eve dinner, and it was good. But my friend Marie told me about this one, so I made it for myself on New Year's Day. I am wiping out the last of the 24 rumaki for supper this evening. This is an excellent recipe, they are even good right from the fridge. Even when cold, the flavors are so intense that they are tasty indeed. I will be making these again and again.
susanvey
Indiana
1/4/2016
Probably the best traditional interpretation. I highly recommend. I also made this for my Mad Men party and it was a big hit. It's a great choice if you want "mock" rumaki without the liver and with extra polynesian flair. http://www.neurotickitchen.com/2012/03/retro-food-redux-mad-men-viewing-party.html
Vermaid23
3/31/2012
The small, 1/2" pieces of liver wrapped in a half slice of bacon was a nice combination. Pre-cook bacon by microwaving five full strips for two minutes, sandwitching the bacon between layers of paper towels on a plate. This makes assembly much easier.
Cherrybark
Texas
1/31/2011
Rumakis were a holiday staple in our home growing up, and this recipe is very similar to my mothers. One thing she used to do different is instead of chicken livers she used to use chicken thighs for the liver haters. I myself got used to eating them this way and now find that if you are cooking for picky eaters the thighs are a safe choice.
peaches62
HB California
12/22/2009
Love this recipe. I can't stop eating them when I make it. The preparation is time consuming -- wrapping in bacon is a real pain -- but the results totally make it worthwhile.
Anonymous
Baltimore, MD
2/3/2007
I really loved the flavors of this recipe. I wish I had taken the "partially cook bacon" advice as it would have made for easier assmebly (silppery little buggers) and more even cooking. My guests enjoyed the texture and flavor and were shocked when the learned they were eating chicken livers.
Anonymous
San Diego, CA
9/29/2006
This episode was a bit time consuming, but worth it! My guests loved it. I made them ahead of time and reheated for 10 minutes at 300 when guests arrived. They turned out great! :)
candypantz
10/16/2005
At my freind's recommendation I used larger size pieces of liver & would not do so again. The liver overwhlemed the other flavors. Although they were yummy I would keep to the recipe the next time. I think equal sizes of liver/chesnut would make for better pairing of flavors.
Anonymous
Morris Twp., NJ
7/25/2005
This recipe is very similar to the one I use with exception of the curry. I have found that dipping the rumaki into tempura batter after assembling & before frying makes the rumaki a wonderful hit with family & guests.
artsforme
Las Vegas
9/11/2004
This recipe took a bit longer and I cooked them ahead of time and heated them up just before serving. I thought they were rich and delicious, but family who don't care for liver decided(after finding out it was liver) they were not desirable. So moral is--don't tell them it has chicken livers and they will love them.
Gail
St.Charles,MO
5/16/2002
I've always loved rumaki, and this is a great recipe for it. Assembly can be a little fiddly with raw ingredients, so I partially cook the bacon and the livers (30% on the bacon, 40% on the livers - but careful with the livers, they cook fast!).
Anonymous
Toronto
3/10/2002
