Popular Japanese Snack Foods
Japanese culture has been fascinating Americans for some time now. We love a lot of things about the Japanese, but we especially like the food. If you’re thinking about serving food at a party that has a Japanese flair, or if you just want a Japanese snack every day, here are some ideas to get you started.
Yakitori - This popular snack food is a kabob, especially good for parties or casual dinners. It also complements Saki and Japanese beer.
Begin by soaking your wooden skewers in water to prevent them from burning.
What you need: - 3 chicken breasts cut up into small chunks - 1 tablespoon of sugar - 2 tablespoons of sake - 3 tablespoons of mirin - 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
Skewer the chicken on the soaked skewers. Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Grill the skewered chicken, using the sauce as a baste.
Edamame - Edamame has become more popular as a Japanese snack food in America in recent years, so it’s getting easier to find it in the grocery stores.
Serve it like we would pretzels (with beer during the game) or keep it in baggies like trail mix as a snack on the go. What a great way to get the kids to eat veggies! (Be wary of folks who are allergic to soy, though!)
First, wash your edamame completely. Then, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Add one tablespoon of salt to the water along with the edamame. Boil for three to four minutes. Drain, then add a dash more salt. Let the edamame cool, then store in an airtight container.
Sunonomo (cucumber and Daikon salad) - This is an excellent side for just about any meal, though it’s also great by itself as a refreshing afternoon snack.
Ingredients: - 1 daikan radish - 1 cucumber - 5 tbsp rice vinegar - 2 tbsp sugar - 1 tsp salt
Peel the radish and slice it thinly. Slice the cucumber just as thinly.
Cover both vegetables in salt and leave them alone for about ten minutes, letting the salt soak in. Wash the slices and then drain them completely. Mix together the sugar and vinegar, then pour the mixture over the vegetables. Let this sit for 15 minutes or so before serving.
With the expansion of the Asian section in most grocery stores, and more and more Asian specialty stores opening up, you are sure to find plenty of ingredients and ideas for Japanese snack foods.
