Cut Yocchan: A Classic Dagashi Squid Surimi Snack
Snacks made from surimi (すり身) fish paste are very familiar to Japanese kids, and most of such treats belong to Dagashi (駄菓子), a snack genre unique to Japan.
Dagashi is the generic name for cheap, relatively small, unique Japanese snacks and candies, and surimi snacks such as Kabayaki-san Taro (蒲焼さん太郎) are one of its representative types.
Kabayaki-san Taro is among the most famous Dagashi treats, and what I introduce here, Cut Yocchan (カットよっちゃん), is also among them.
Cut Yocchan (Yocchan Ika)
Cut Yocchan, also known as Yocchan Ika (よっちゃんイカ), is a long-selling Japanese Dagashi snack from Yotchan Foods that’s been on sale since 1977.
When I was a kid, I used to buy this Dagashi at a small Dagashiya candy shop near my house, and many of my friends also loved it.
Now (as of November 2022), supermarkets and convenience stores carry the Dagashi, and the 15 g version of Cut Yocchan is available at 50 yen.
Lottery
One primary reason why the Dagashi Cut Yocchan was a fad among us is that the product had a lottery in the corner of the packaging.
If the Japanese word meaning You won, あたり appears, you can get one more Cut Yocchan for free at the store where you purchased it.
But this time, I didn’t win the lottery because the word meaning You lost, はずれ, appeared.
Unfortunately, according to the official site of Cut Yocchan, the maker has decided to abolish the lottery at the end of May this year (2018).
Features/Taste
As Ika (イカ) (in the nickname of Yocchan Ika) means squid in Japanese, the main ingredients of the Dagashi Cut Yocchan are squid and fish.
These orange-colored surimi treats are bouncy yet tender, like Soft Sakiika, flavored with Sanbaizu, a traditional Japanese seasoning sauce made from vinegar, soy sauce, and mirin or sugar.
So the Dagashi is somewhat vinegary. But it’s packed with umami and yummy.
Ingredients/Nutrition Facts
Squid, Brewed vinegar, Fish meat, Starch, Salt, Fermented seasoning, Sugar, Vegetable protein, Vegetable oil, Reduced starch syrup, Protein hydrolysate, Dextrin, Sorbitol, Seasoning (including amino acid), Acidifier, Colors (Caramel, Yellow 4, Red 102), Sweetener (Stevia), (Partially including Squid, Wheat, Soybean, and Gelatin) |
Nutritional Values
Calories | 30 kcal |
Protein | 3.6 g |
Fat | 0.3 g |
Carbohydrates | 3.2 g |
Salt equivalents | 0.6 g |
(Reference Page: Wikipedia よっちゃん食品工業 )