Senbei: Japanese Rice Cracker Recipe using Microwave
Senbei (せんべい) is a traditional Japanese cracker made of non-glutinous rice called Uruchi-Mai (うるち米), the staple of the Japanese diet.
It is one of Japan’s favorite afternoon snacks, and you will see a variety of senbei in the snack and candy section of Japanese grocery stores.
In machine manufacturing, after Uruchi-Mai rice is pressed and crushed into powder, it is steamed, kneaded, typically molded into a round shape, dried, and baked.
Source: Youtube【工場見学】手焼きせんべい 佐野名物じねん焼き 加藤米菓 (富)
In contrast, the video above shows a traditional way of making senbei, where a Japanese senbei artisan is grilling the crackers.
From the video, you might not think that you can make senbei at home because the method looks like it requires skills.
But in reality, just with leftover rice, you can easily make the Japanese treat using a microwave oven.
Easy Senbei Recipe using Microwave Oven
So here, let me introduce an easy senbei recipe using a microwave oven.
According to this article, the method is simple as follows.
Instructions
- Sprinkle some salt on cooked white rice and mix lightly. It is also good to use soy sauce or Furikake seasoning instead of salt.
- Place the seasoned rice on a sheet of cooking paper and cover it with another.
- Press and crush the rice by hand. Then flatten it out as thinly as possible with a rolling pin or the like.
- Remove the upper paper and microwave the flattened rice at 500 Watts for about 5 minutes.
- Let the rice cool down, and then break into bite-size pieces.
- Now it’s ready to eat. Enjoy the crackers!
