{"id":47,"date":"2009-02-05T18:44:47","date_gmt":"2009-02-05T22:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=47"},"modified":"2009-02-05T18:44:47","modified_gmt":"2009-02-05T22:44:47","slug":"regional-munchies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/regional-munchies\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese Food: Regional Munchies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Time for our Kyoodo Ryoori (\u90f7\u571f\u6599\u7406<\/strong>) series!\u00a0 For those of you who don’t know, kyoodo ryoori (\u90f7\u571f\u6599\u7406<\/strong>)\u00a0means ‘regional specialites.’\u00a0 Today we’re going to take a trip to Kamakura, Kanagawa (\u938c\u5009, \u795e\u5948<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span>).\u00a0 Kamakura (\u938c\u5009<\/strong><\/span><\/span>) is a city steeped in history.\u00a0 Before Tookyoo (\u6771\u4eac<\/strong><\/span><\/span>) became the capital city of Japan, Kamakura (\u938c\u5009<\/strong><\/span><\/span>) was the foremost prosperous city in Japan.\u00a0 To make a long story short, family intrigues and violent disputes amongst various clans lead to the downfall of the Kamakura (\u938c\u5009<\/strong><\/span><\/span>) city.<\/p>\n

\"\"Now, let’s get to the more interesting part: food!\u00a0 Kamakura (\u938c\u5009<\/strong><\/span><\/span>) is known for its senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>).\u00a0 Senbeis (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>) are Japanese rice crackers.\u00a0 Sometimes the senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>) is wrapped with a thin strip of seaweed.\u00a0 Senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>) come in all shapes, sizes, colors and flavors.\u00a0 The most popular flavors are the senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>) that are sweet, salty and spicy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Although senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>) are low in calories, especially when compared to American potato chips, they can be quite addictive.\u00a0 I finish about a half a bag in one sitting, something which I’m not to proud to share!\u00a0 Anyway, when you’re eating senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>), you’ll notice that your fingers become sticky.\u00a0 The stickiness comes from the mirin (\u307f\u308a\u3093<\/strong>) used on the senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>).\u00a0 Mirin (\u307f\u308a\u3093<\/strong>) is used a lot in Japanese food.\u00a0 It contains some alcohol content, but more importantly it contains lots of sugar.<\/p>\n

\"\"If I were to make a suggestion, I would be careful with the round, green crackers that come with the senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>).\u00a0 These green balls look harmless.\u00a0 In fact they kind of look like hardened green peas.\u00a0 Guess what!\u00a0 They’re not peas, they’re balls of wasabi (\u308f\u3055\u3073<\/strong>) hardened into crackers.\u00a0 Wasabi (\u308f\u3055\u3073<\/strong>) is a VERY spicy green paste that is used as a condiment.\u00a0 You see, I didn’t realize they were wasabi (\u308f\u3055\u3073<\/strong>) balls and went straight for the green crackers because they stood out among the brown senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>) crackers.\u00a0 I basically took about 5 wasabi (\u308f\u3055\u3073<\/strong>) balls at a time and chewed on them.\u00a0 Well, all I have to say is that I’m glad I still have a functioning tongue. Lol.\u00a0<\/p>\n

If you want to try out some senbei (\u305b\u3093\u3079\u3044<\/strong>) for yourself, just peruse the aisles of your local Asian grocery store!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Time for our Kyoodo Ryoori (\u90f7\u571f\u6599\u7406) series!\u00a0 For those of you who don’t know, kyoodo ryoori (\u90f7\u571f\u6599\u7406)\u00a0means ‘regional specialites.’\u00a0 Today we’re going to take a trip to Kamakura, Kanagawa (\u938c\u5009, \u795e\u5948).\u00a0 Kamakura (\u938c\u5009) is a city steeped in history.\u00a0 Before Tookyoo (\u6771\u4eac) became the capital city of Japan, Kamakura (\u938c\u5009) was the foremost prosperous city…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2764,2830],"class_list":["post-47","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-japanese-rice-crackers","tag-senbei"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t