Bourbon Choco Anpan: Chocolate-Filled Mini Snack Buns
Based on the definition of “An (餡)” by Japanese Wikipedia that I introduced in the previous post, chocolate cream can also be considered a kind of An paste, because it is made from cacao...
Category: Foods
What exactly is Anko or An in Japanese food culture?
Typically made from boiled Azuki red beans sweetened with sugar, the Anko (餡子) paste is an indispensable part of Wagashi (和菓子) traditional Japanese confections. Sometimes, Anko is abbreviated to An (餡), but until now,...
Mizu Manju: A Traditional Japanese Summer Dessert
As it is getting warmer and warmer, some supermarkets here in Niigata have started to sell summer desserts at the best place to display. Among such summer treats, what quickly caught my eye during...
Ika Mirin Age: A Classic Japanese Squid Cracker
Shoyu (醤油: soy sauce) and mirin (味醂: sweet cooking rice wine) are seasonings that represent Japan and are often used together not only in dishes but also for snacks. In fact, good and old...
Dagashi Snack: Baby Star Guru-Guru Monja-Yaki
“Dagashi (駄菓子)” is the generic name for cheap Japanese snacks and candies, which were mostly sold in “Dagashiya (駄菓子屋)”, shops that specialize in Dagashi treats, several decades ago in Japan. But the circumstance surrounding...
Morinaga Choco Monaka Jumbo Ice Cream
As I wrote a while ago, Monaka (最中) is a traditional Japanese confection or Wagashi consisting of Anko (餡子: sweet Azuki red bean paste) covered in two crisply baked rice wafers. In modern times, the...
Nama Miso: What type of Soybean Paste is it?
Known as an essential ingredient in Japanese cuisine, miso (味噌) is a seasoning paste made by fermenting soybeans with koji and salt. Today, the Japanese fermented seasoning is well recognized in many countries and...
Ghana Milk Chocolate: Lotte’s First Milk Chocolate
Lotte is a confectionery maker founded by a Korean businessman named Shin Kyuk-ho (also known by the Japanese name Takeo Shigemitsu) in 1948 in Tokyo. Today, many sweets from Lotte have long been favorites in Japan...
