Does anybody know about typical Japanese sweets?
 

Hey guys,

a few years ago I visited a festival and ate some Japanese sweets. They were really tasty! :D But I didn't get the name. There was just a description telling something about typical Japanese rice 'something'... (can't remeber the whole description^^)

It would be great if anyone could tell me more about them!! :)

Greetings n_n

What did they look like? How were they served? What sort of consistency did they have? That could help narrow it down. :vsign:

well first of all: thanks for the fast answer! :D

I think there were 'different types'... some were white, soft and filled with a sugary something. ^^ I hope you know what I mean. :)
Others were kind of light brown or pink as well.
How they were served? ehm, on a plate?! :P You could choose one (or several) and then you got them on a serviette...

It sounds like you are talking about gourmet marshmallows, which were a bit a fad recently.

Actually, I think she may be thinking of something more obvious, like daifuku or some other type of mochi, or maybe dango.

Coraline, you might want to look at the above links (all are English Wikipedia articles); those may give you a clue, or at least something interesting to read. :) (I didn't even know the proper name for daifuku, which I had simply thought of as "mochi", until I checked the mochi article.)

It could be some mochi variation but there are so many kinds.

I know Macaron have been very popular in Japan for a while too but they are not rice based.

You ate 'wagashi' meaning traditional Japanese sweets. The soft chewy outside is a special rice steamed then pounded into a dough called mochi. Mochi is usually white but can be dyed any color or be coated with varies accents. The inner sweet filling is usually an Azuki bean paste called anko. There are many delicious varieties including modern hybrids that use chocolate or fruits like kiwi.

Well I don't know whether those sweets are made of pig's fat but for me they were very tasty! If you don't like them it's ok but then why do you answer to this thread?!

Anyway thanks a lot to the others!! :D
I looked up the suggestions you made and I found them!! I think at the festival they offered daifuko (or mochi or wagashi or however I should call them...^^)!
I even found some recipes... :) I will try to make them by myself. When I not successful I will ask again! n_n

Wow, it's amazing that you could be fond of Japanese wagashi the first time you take it, I envy you.

It took me quite a long time to eat them deliciously because I'm not used to red bean's sweetness, but now I love taiyaki and dorayaki so much, may be I become like Doraemon! haha.

Yeah, I think what you're finding is some kind of mochi-based okashi too like daifuku. Isn't it easy for you to buy it in your country?

Well maybe. I don't know. I searched for them and didn't get any. But it's possible that I looked at the wrong shops or places. ^^ I will look again and I think it will much easier now that I have a certain name!! :D

Probably I liked them so much because they were new to me and wanted to get to know everything that has something to do with Japan... ^^

What exactly is taiyaki? I saw some pictures but I can't imagine what it is and tastes like.

Taiyaki is a kind of waffle that has red bean stuffed inside. It has the shape of sea bass, hence the name. (Tai = sea bass)

Dorayaki is a pancake sandwich that has red bean inside. It's Doraemon's favorite snack.

Actually almost all Japanese traditional snack is very sweet because it's based on azuki bean (red bean). I think if you interest in wagashi may be you could read this in Wikipedia

Wagashi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

thanks for the article! :D I can't wait to try cooking/baking and eating them again. Although I don't think that I will manage to create 'good' daifuku or wasashi in general... :P

If you end up finding a place that sells wagashi/mochi/daifuku type things you should try these if you see them - Yatsuhashi. I got hooked on them the first time I tried them in Kyoto, they come in so many good flavors! Though I think I have a preference for the cinnamon ones!

That's exactly my problem. I don't know where to buy some. There are some 'asia shops' but I don't know if they have got wagashi...

No one buys wagashi online. Mosy of it is only good for a couple of days.

Is there a Japanese market anywhere within driving distance for you? That would be your best bet.

Most of Wagashi is like Chinese snack. It can't last long. I think not more than 2 days (if it's not in vacuum packaging) before it become so hard like a rock! because it's base from flour or mochi.

And never try to put it in the fridge and then heat it in microwave oven, because it might become uneatable (may be some wagashi can be heated but I don't think I will heat up Taiyaki or Dorayaki, it will be dried up and very hard)

Unfortunately there is no Japanese market. Just an 'asia-shop' but the salesman is extremely unkind and impolite. Yesterday I bought the ingredients and tried to make daifuku by myself... ^^ They almost taste like those I ate at the festival. But they look different and the consistence is quite strange. Any advice?? :D That would be great.

Wow, you cooked it by yourself!? great.

I never thought about it because in my country (Thailand), it's quite easy to find Japanese stuff here especially in Bangkok. We have Isetan, Tokyu, (Tokai) Max Value/Jusco/Aeon, and tons of Yamazaki. Many Wagashi are made here (that's why it's cheap enough for me to buy it otherwise I can't afford it).

May be you can try this Recipe Index

Thanks a lot for all the recipes! :) I think I will try some of them as well. But I couldn't find a recipe that was similar to that I used for the daifuku. Or maybe I am just blind?? :D

Nevermind. Wasted my time explaining.

[quote=Sashimister;830870]Why do you think what you had at the festival(?) was daifuku??

Because I saw some pictures of daifuku and it looks like the sweets I ate at the festival. Although I just ate 2 or 3 of them there I think 'my disastrous' ones almost taste the same... :) And because of the colour. There were different coloured sweets offered. I just took the white ones. So I think it should be daifuku.
Please don't say I ate something different. I don't want to start searching again... :D

P.S.: The festival was an event for one weekend where many different things from Japan were shown. You could buy typical Japanese food, clothes and other things. There were some performances of different martial arts, tea ceremonies and lots of other things. Although I don't know whether there were shown real typical Japanese things or just the cliché it was awesome and just great! :D

Fine. If you don't want the opinion of a real Japanese person in your thread, I'll be more than happy to get out. Keep talking to the others who clearly don't seem to know much about Japanese confectionary.

Ehm, I didn't mean to offend you... Of course I want the opionion of Japanese people. That's why I am here. -.-

I'm Japanese living in CA. I can tell you, even with the proper ingredients, it would be hard to make it yourself.

It's like Barbecue. Specialist restaurants do barbecue way better than the average Joe. But, home experts, do barbecue better than most restaurant.

So, chances are yours won't come out that good at first. But if you keep at it and study, you might make some that are better than the average in Japan.

I can't help but think there has to be an Asian market carrying Japanese wagashi or partially made ingredients within 100 miles from your location. It would be so much easier that way.

In my case, I got interested in making Egusi with Fufu, an African dish, but the ingredient aren't sold at the usual market. But by asking around, I found at least 4 African markets within 70 miles from were I am and more over, one small market 4~5 miles from my home. I drove that road at least once a month never knowing a small African market was there for years!

Ask around!

okay... I will practise a lot. :) I want to be able to make them tasty! Hopefully I will manage someday. :P I will search for the asia-shop. Thanks for the tip. n_n

I always get given those nicely decorated boxes of mochi with green tea powder whenever friends from Japan visit.