Tsuminaki Karaage/Tonkatsu: Japanese High Protein Snacks
When I was a kid, I used to eat Dagashi, such as Big Katsu and Kabayaki-san Taro, as almost every child raised in Japan loves it.
Big Katsu (Price: 30 yen/ about 0.3 USD) is a snack emulating Tonkatsu pork cutlet, while Kabayaki-san Taro (10 yen) is a junk food associated with grilled unagi eel.
These Dagashi snacks are yummy, and I loved them. But I remember being a little shocked when I heard that both Big Katsu and Kabayaki-san Taro are made with surimi fish paste.
Tsuminaki Karaage/Tonkatsu: Guiltless High Protein Snacks
The products I introduce here, “Tsuminaki Karaage (罪なきからあげ: Guiltless Karaage)” and “Tsuminaki Tonkatsu (罪なきとんかつ)” are also snacks of that kind, but these treats sound much more healthy.
Because the main ingredients are soybeans, and these are high protein low-calorie snacks that can make people think that they are not Dagashi.
Tsuminaki Karaage and Tonkatsu are both from Koikeya, a rival competitor of Calbee, introduced into the market in 2019, sold around 160 yen at convenience stores. I bought these at a 7 Eleven.
Ingredients and Nutrition Facts
I guess people interested want to know what exactly makes these snacks. So here are the ingredient lists and nutrition facts labels.
Tsuminaki Karaage (罪なきからあげ)
Based on that, the main ingredients in Tuminaki Karaage are powdered soybean protein, starch, vegetable oil, wheat flour, indigestible dextrin, sugar, soy sauce, meat extract seasoning powder (including chicken and pork), spices, protein hydrolyzate, salt, dextrose, powdered egg white, and powdered fat.
Tsuminaki Karaage has 117 kcal per bag (23 grams), contains 5.3 g protein, 7.2 g fat, 7.8 g carbohydrates, and 0.8 g salt equivalents.
Tsuminaki Tankatsu (罪なきとんかつ)
Meanwhile, Tsuminaki Tonkatsu mainly consists of powdered soybean protein, starch, vegetable oil, panko breadcrumbs, wheat flour, sauce seasoning, indigestible dextrin, salt, pork extract powder, spices, egg white powder, yeast extract powder, and meat extract seasoning powder.
Tsuminaki Tonkatsu has 129 kcal per bag (26 grams), contains 5.6 g protein, 7.4 g fat, 10.2 g carbohydrates, and 0.9 g salt equivalents.
Taste
These fries are both pleasantly crispy and quite delicious. They indeed taste similar to Karaage and Tonkatsu, and unless told, no one could identify the main ingredient.
