Karinto: Classic Japanese Deep-Fried Dough Snack
Karinto (かりんとう) is a traditional Japanese snack food with several hundred years of history, and here, let’s take a close look at it.
Karinto (かりんとう)
Karinto is a stick of deep-fried dough cookie made from wheat flour, yeast, and sugar, and typically coated with brown sugar syrup, then dried.
The Wagashi sweet usually has a tough crunchy texture. And due to its brown sugar coating, the confection takes on a savory sweetness.
In Japan, Karinto has been a favorite Dagashi (駄菓子) snack, long loved by both children and adults.
It is an everyday casual snack available at most supermarkets, and its price is not high.
Varieties/Flavors
In modern times, Karinto comes in a large variety.
Most are inexpensive, but some produced by long-established Wagashi shops tend to be expensive.
The dough traditionally has a brown sugar coating, but recent ones offer various flavors.
Some contain flavoring ingredients such as sesame seeds, peanuts, vegetables, Matcha green tea powder, or buckwheat flour.
Recipe using Udon Noodles
It may be hard to make Karinto snacks like Japanese confectionery companies do.
But as this recipe on Cookpad.com shows, you can make authentic Karinto using Udon noodles.
For those interested, the method is like this.
Instructions
Image: cookpad.com
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Udon noodles | One bag |
| Wheat flour | As needed |
| Vegetable oil | As needed |
| Sugar | As needed |
| Water | As needed |
- First, boil the Udon noodles and separate them in the water
- Remove moisture from the noodles with a paper towel and coat them with a mixture of flour and sugar
- After heating some vegetable oil in a pan, put in the Udon strips one by one
- Deep-fry the noodles until golden brown, then take them out from the pan
- Prepare sauce: Put sugar and water in another pan and simmer the mixture until viscous
- Once you make the sauce, add it to the noodles and coat them well while cooking over a low heat
- Transfer the seasoned noodles to a large plate and let them cool down until dry
- Enjoy the Karinto sticks!
