Amaguri: Classic Japanese Roasted Chestnuts

In Natsu Matsuri (夏祭り), or Japanese summer festivals, choosing and buying various foods at street stalls is one of the fun things.

Those food stalls are called Yatai (屋台), many of which cook foods in that place. Hence, you not only enjoy the treats, but you can also see the cooking processes.

They offer a wide variety of foods, which include what I introduce here Amaguri (甘栗), literally Sweet Chestnut.

Amaguri (甘栗)

Amaguri is a roasted chestnut. As you can see in the picture above, in the cooking, chestnuts are put into tiny heated pebbles and indirectly heated.

Amaguri vendors at festivals usually sell those roasted chestnuts in old-fashioned red paper bags that are very familiar to us Japanese.

Muki Amaguri (むき甘栗)

On the other hand, the majority of Amaguri carried by supermarkets is Muki Amaguri (むき甘栗), using peeled chestnuts. In other words, Muki Amaguri refers to peeled, roasted chestnuts.

Ingredients

Muki Amaguri is a sweet treat that’s long been a favorite in Japan, but it traditionally uses small chestnuts harvested in China.

The one I have now is made only with organic chestnuts produced in China.

Taste

Since these peeled chestnuts are free from seasonings and additives, they make the most of their natural sweetness and retain their original texture.