Skoshbox Japanese Treats October 2013

Click here to visit Skoshbox.

Skoshbox October 2013

---

1. Choco Puff
-Puffed corn cylinder (like the umaibo from last month) coated in a thin layer of chocolate.
*This was nice & light. Smalls loved it & it was easy for her to manage because it was a stick.

2. Niigata Rice Cracker
-Thin & crispy with a soy sauce glaze that is supposed to be reminiscent of yaki (grilled) onigiri (rice balls).
*The flavor seemed a teeny bit burnt-ish & not very soy saucy/salty.

3. Ume (Plum) Cracker
-Thick, puffed rice with some air pockets between the inner rice & the outside layer. A little crispier on the outside with a flavored glaze of pickled plum (umeboshi).
*The ume glaze had a tart zip that made the cracker interesting.

4. Black Sesame Mochi (Glutinous Rice Jelly)
-Soft, black jelly cube with a sugar coating.
*There was a subtle, nutty, roasted flavor aftertaste from the black sesame. Available here.

Sparkling Ball Candy

5. Endo Green Peas
-Roasted, dried, crunchy green peas seasoned with salt & pepper.
*I Didin't care too much for these because of the empty shells/pea casings.

6. Sparkling Ball Candy
-Hard candy ball, fruit flavored, coated in sugar crystals.
*Good fruit flavor. I think we got strawberry. Smalls said it was a "tasty candy" & pretty much ate the whole thing (I only got a little sliver!).

7. Fizzy Soda Candy
-Hard candy ball, sour fruit flavored, with fizziness as soon as it hits your tongue.
*I think we got pineapple soda & either grape or apple soda? It had a nice strong flavor & the fizziness was pretty cool.

8. Nori (Edible Seaweed) Wrapped Senbei
-Similar to the ume cracker above, crunchy, savory puffed rice, but with nori/seaweed/laver wrapped over one side.
*The glaze was slightly spicy & the nori added a faint seafood flavor. It was fine, but the nori was a little like paper.

9. Soft Salad Senbei

Matcha Gum

-Large puffed rice disc with a light dusting of savory flavor (maybe it's supposed to be like Italian dressing flavor?).
*This was my favorite. The puffiness was very easy to bite into & the slightly salty flavor was really good! I imagine I could eat lots of these & still feel good. Available here & here.

10. Matcha (Green Tea) Gum Pack
-Short sticks of green colored gum with a minty flavor first & then a very subtle tea bitterness on the back of the tongue.
*This is pretty much like regular mint gum, except for that very subtle background flavor--& I mean very subtle. If I didn't know it was supposed to be green tea flavored I probably would never have noticed, I would have thought it was just loosing its flavor. Available here.

11. Hagaki (Postcards)
-2 postcards, one of the famous Japanese painting "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" (AKA "The Wave") & the other a closeup photo of colorful hard candy.