Cabbage Taro: Okonomiyaki Sauce Flavor Corn Puff Snack
Do you know the name of the Japanese company selling the most famous Dagashi snack in Japan called Umaibo (うまい棒)?
For those who answer no, it is Yaokin (やおきん) that plans the sales of Umaibo, and the Dagashi is produced by the Ibaraki-based snack food manufacturer Riska (リスカ).
Kyabetsu Taro (キャベツ太郎) from Yaokin
Other than Umaibo, Yaokin carries a large variety of Dagashi snacks, including what I introduce here, Kyabetsu Taro (キャベツ太郎).
In its name, Kyabetsu (キャベツ) means cabbage in Japanese, while Taro (太郎) is a Japanese boy’s name.
So it seems that the Japanese snack Kyabetsu Taro is literally referred to as Cabbage Taro in English-speaking countries.
The Cabbage Taro was introduced in 1981 and has now gained popularity. As shown above, it is a corn puff snack featuring Okonomiyaki sauce flavor.
Known as a specialty of Osaka, Okonomiyaki (お好み焼き) is a Japanese savory pancake similar to pizza, and the brown sauce for Okonomiyaki tastes like a sweet barbecue sauce.
As with other corn puffs, the puffed corn of Cabbage Taro has a light, crispy texture, while the taste of the overall snack is quite savory and satisfying, like Okonomiyaki.
Ingredients
Although the name of the Dagashi includes the word Kyabetsu (キャベツ), meaning cabbage, the snack Yaokin Kyabetsu Taro doesn’t contain cabbage at all.
The Cabbage Taro is a puffed snack made from high-quality corn kernels, flavored after the taste of Okonomiyaki sauce, and dusted with Aonori (青海苔) green nori seaweed particles, like Okonomiyaki.
Origin of the Name
According to Yaokin, there seem to be various opinions about why the product name includes Kyabetsu/キャベツ. But the company says that one primary reason for that is the corn puffs look like Brussels sprouts.
