Japanese Snack Reviews
Today’s snack looks like a wagashi, but is in fact more of a yogashi by virtue of the chocolate filling. At first glance, this treat looks exactly like taiyaki; a wagashi from the early 1900’s comprised of a pancake or waffle batter grilled in a fish-shaped mold and filled with anko.
The chocolate peeking between [...]
Kinako doesn’t sound good as a dessert ingredient; when translated, kinako means “toasted soy bean flour” and the kanji are written as “yellow flour” (is that like yellow snow?) To some people, the thought of soy= tofu= *blech* and the thought of beans used similarly= WTF?!
However, kinako is absolutely delish and I add it [...]
In my snack time adventures I’ve covered some interesting and uniquely Japanese food stuffs. This time around, it’s different. Castella are actually yogashi inspired by the Portuguese, the same fellas that helped bring the world tempura. Hooray foreign trade!
I’ve seen castella cakes mentioned in manga and anime before and always wondered why the [...]
From the folks who brought you Tamagogani and Yaki Aji comes, Kozakanani! They’re dried, sugared and looking you straight in the eye from their dissected sockets. Yes, Kozakanani is a melange of dried and candied marine life preserved for your eating pleasure!
Delivered to your mouth in Takuma Shokuhin’s uninspiring but promissory packaging, [...]
There’s a hierarchy of confections and snacks (okashi) in Japan, for those who didn’t know. At the top of the Japanese sugar mountain are wagashi.
Wagashi, as denoted by the wa-, are the traditional sweets of Japan which are painstakingly handcrafted with the finest ingredients. They include daifuku, dango, and botamochi/ ohagi. Many [...]
Here’s an East meets West snack that I’ve been putting off reviewing for a loonngg time. I usually don’t mind chowing down on the new and unusual, but something about the packaging gave the product a sinister quality. Maybe it was the command “Just Pack” or maybe it was the way the [...]
I like senbei (Japanese rice crackers). They satisfy my carb craving in a wheat free manner (mostly) so I can add another notch to my eating right regimen (Yeah right! Who am I kidding?). They’re also a good way to get my nori fix when the Seaweed Shakes come around (who else [...]
When I first started down my Japanese snack journey, many things were new, strange, and often times, frightening. Fish snacks skewered on sticks and lathered in soy and sake can look pretty daunting to an average Jane. All the Japanese words on the packaging, while written in romanji, are still a mystery to the [...]
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