Food Fare Culinary Collection: Japanese Culture & Cuisine

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Japanese Snacks

The Japanese enjoy a great number of snack foods, some of them home-prepared while others are available packaged in stores or public eateries.

Edamame (twin bean) is quite popular, made with immature soybeans boiled in water and salt, and served whole. Other condiments and spices are used with Edamame, such as wine dregs (known as Jiuzao) and five-spice powder. The beans can also be pulped into a dip and eaten with a variety of crackers or raw vegetables. Packaged Edamame dip flavoring is available in most Asian grocery stores.

Kaki peanuts (kaki no tane, pictured at right) are another favorite snack in Japan. Made from crescent-shaped soy-flavored rice crisps and peanuts, they are typically offered as a pub snack.

Yan-Yan is a two-compartment package containing biscuit or crackers sticks, and sweet-flavored dip, such as chocolate, strawberry, vanilla or yogurt. The sticks also come in multiple flavors.

Kara Mucho, also known as potato chips or potato sticks, are spiced Japanese snacks made with potato, vegetable oil, red pepper, salt, sugar and MSG (monosodium glutamate).

Mochi is another common snack, which consists of rice cake pounded into paste and then shaped into various forms. The ceremony for preparing Mochi is known as mochitsuki. The snack is eaten year-round, although it remains most popular during New Year celebrations.

Rice balls (Onigiri) are also common snacks in Japan. They are nothing more than white rice formed into balls, wrapped in seaweed (nori) and filled with a variety of salty foods: pickled fruits (umeboshi), fermented tuna (katsuobushi), kelp (kombu) and roe (tarako).

Black-Black (Burakku-Burakku) is a brand-name chewing gum which is highly caffeinated and colored charcoal-gray. It is also available in the United States.

Green tea ice cream (matcha aisu kurimu) is hugely popular in Japan and other parts of Asia. The ice cream is made using finely-milled Matcha green tea, which is also typically served during a Japanese tea ceremony in hot liquid form.

Other popular Japanese snacks include:

Agemochi (made from broken pieces of sticky rice; deep fried and lightly salted).
Ajigonomi (packaged snack similar to trail mix; contains seasoned combinations of rice crackers, peanuts and dried fish).
Arare (bite-sized crackers made from rice and seasoned with soy sauce or sugar; often eaten to celebrate the annual Doll Festival – Hinamatsuri - on March 3rd, also known as Girls' Day. They are also sold with Kaki peanuts in a packaged snack called kakipi).
Botamochi (made with rice and sweet azuki red-bean paste).
Botan Rice Candy; Tomoe Ame (lemon-orange flavored candy wrapped in rice paper).
Dango (small dumplings made form rice flour; available in a variety of sweet and salty flavors. Usually presented on a skewer and eaten with green tea).
Ganmodoki (tofu fritter made with vegetables, egg white and sesame seeds).
Hello Panda (biscuit with a shortbread layer filled with flavored cream).
Kappa Ebisen (shrimp-flavored snack resembling French fries, pictured at right).
Korokke (deep-fried fish with mashed potato and white sauce, typically sold by street vendors).
Monaka (wafer dessert sandwich with a variety of fillings: azuki bean jam, sesame seeds, chestnuts or rice cake).
Nikuman (boiled dumplings filled with curry-seasoned meat; similar to Chinese pork buns).
Pocky (bread sticks coated with chocolate).
Pretz; Purittsu (similar to pretzels but dusted with savory seasonings).
Puccho (flavored candy similar to gummy bears and taffy).
Takoyaki (fried dumpling filled with octopus, leftover tempura scraps – tenkasu - pickled ginger and green onions).
Wagashi (sweet confection often served with tea; made from azuki bean paste, mochi rice cake and various fruits).
Yakitori (skewered chicken grilled over charcoal).
Yukimi Daifuku (ball of vanilla ice cream wrapped in a thin layer of rice cake).

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