7 Crazy Japanese Snacks
As you may have already read, we love the markets in Japan. One of the best things about visiting markets in a foreign country is, of course, the food! Picture yourself strolling along a crowded street. There are 3-century-old houses on your left and a nice little river on your right. Both sides of the streets are lined with vendors shouting for you to visit their stands… okay that last part isn’t true – nobody in Japan is ever shouting or imposing on you in any way so they are just minding their own business for the most part, but I digress. As you amble on your way you smell… something. It’s unfamiliar to you, but it smells good, but kinda bad? You’re not sure at all and completely curious. So what do you do? You find the source and eat of course!
Here are just a few of the awesome, if not totally bizarre snacks you can grub on if you keep your eyes open in Japan.
Donuts
Tiny, delicious, and often covered in caramel sauce or chocolate syrup, the surprise factor here is low, but they are just so tasty. You eat squids on sticks all morning and tell me you aren’t ready for a greasy little donut and some strong coffee! That’s what I thought…
Squid on a Stick
You might think that there is some kind of trick here. Okay, that’s fair. The custard fish were, after all, made of waffle batter instead of actual fish, right? Well, guess again. This is pregnant squid grilled earlier that morning and then stuck on a skewer and cooled for your market-time enjoyment. I hate sounding too cliché, but these little guys really do taste a little like chicken. They have another flavor too; It’s one that you kind of expect from squid… like teriyaki and iodine.
Squid Balls
The second of three squid items, these were the least freaky looking and also the strangest. Squid balls are piping hot little balls of dough that are topped with mayonnaise and sometimes soy or teriyaki. In the center there are several small pieces of cooked squid and a VERY HOT and VERY RUNNY cream sauce that tastes mostly like whole milk and butter. Just be sure to let these little guys cool off or you WILL have 2nd degree burns on your chin.
Beef Buns
This is it for me. The absolute best street snack in Japan. They are everywhere and, accordingly, vary in quality from one place to the next, but here’s what you can expect: A fist-sized ball of springy, spongy steamed rice dough with a generally consistent blend of beef pieces, grilled onions, and sweet Japanese-style curry. Especially if it’s cold when you travel to Japan and can use beef buns as temporary hand-warmers, these are a must-have. The best beef buns are steamed in cedar boxes and are made fresh almost hourly. For my favorite beef bun stall, go to Takayama and follow your nose to the middle of the streets of Edo-Period houses for which the town is famous.
Dango Balls
If you’re looking for something more on the squishy, chewy, salty side of things and are shopping in the “under a dollar” category this is probably for you. As far as I can figure it’s just a ball steamed rice flower that’s brushed with soy sauce and put on the grill for a second. I’m a texture guy and these things are kind of a brain-teaser so I give ‘em a 7.
Fried Squid and Japanese Peppers
Okay this one was pretty crazy. In spite of the fairly basic sounding name, the fired squid and peppers in the Nishiki Market have some tricks up their sleeve. Like most things in the market. The squid and peppers are fried in the wee hours of the morning and then re-heated for shoppers at the market. Pretty standard. When I took a bite I knew something was different. The awesomely unique flavor is mostly dominated by the peppers that give the whole bite a strong citric spiciness. And then your tongue goes numb. Literally.
The “Japanese Peppers” in this snack have a particular naturally occurring chemical that gives them their flavor and also this little party trick. I did not know this so I thought I mush be allergic and about to die.
Sweet Omelets
If you’ve been to a nice sushi restaurant, you may have had Tomago or Tomagoyaki. This light, sweet, Japanese omelets is often served over rice towards the end of a meal. In the Tsukiji Fish Market, the little stand selling stand-alone sweet omelets is an institution. They only cost about 2 JPY and there is perpetually a long, but rapidly moving line.