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Ever wonder what kind of snacks people in Japan used to eat hundreds of years ago? Traditional Japanese snacks called ‘wagashi’ (和菓子) are very different from snacks that we eat nowadays. In today’s review, we look at a traditional Japanese snack called ‘Sakura Goromo’ 桜衣.
What comes to mind when you think of Japanese snacks? Pocky, green tea KitKats, shrimp chips? Sugar was only introduced to Japan during the Muromachi period (1300s). Before then, Japanese people only had fruits and nuts as snacks. But around 1500, wagashi started to become popular when it started to be served at tea festivals. So what's the difference between the modern snacks and the traditional wagashi snacks? The popular modern snacks are usually made with butter, dairy, and eggs. Meanwhile, wagashi is typically made from plants such as red beans, fruits, and rice.
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It’s really hard to get wagashi outside of Japan. But luckily we were able to get our hands on the Sakura Goromo wagashi through Minamoto Kitchoan. Minamoto Kitchoan was one of the first companies to start selling wagashi abroad. Today, they have stores in over 7 countries.
Packaging:
In typical Japanese fashion, these snacks are packaged very nicely. The translucent packaging has beautifully designed sakura patterns alongside the name of the snack. The snack was perfectly packaged, and it wasn’t smooshed or dried out.
Taste:
Wagashi snacks are usually very pretty, but these in particular looked amazing… I felt guilty eating it. The outside is a delicate sakura flavored crepe topped with a cherry blossom shaped jelly. The crepe outside was perfectly textured; it wasn’t dry or crusty, but rather soft and fluffy as if it was freshly made. The inside was filled with mildly sweetened red bean paste. And in the center of the filling was a small delicious piece of mochi. The red bean paste wasn’t overly sweet, and it struck a perfect balance with the rest of the snack. The mochi in the center was also good. It wasn’t chewy and had a slight refreshing sweetness that contrasted the red bean paste very well. There is nothing bad to say about this wagashi snack.
TLDR:The perfect representation of traditional Japanese snacks. Be sure to pair with a nice cup of green tea for the perfect afternoon snack.
Goes perfect with green tea
Here's some other delicious Japanese snacks that you can only get in Japan. You won't find these anywhere else...only at Snakku!
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