The Anime Blog - We Go Beyond Anime!

In Japan, if you have a jones for a snack, you’re covered. The huge amount of street food and vendors alike ensure you need not walk four blocks without something to eat in between. Thanks to anime, Westerners are introduced to a wide variety of these intriguing street foods. Okonomiyaki turns up in Tsubasa, takoyaki has made an appearance in The Wallflower and dango is everywhere you look, most notably in Sailor Moon.

Taiyaki is not only in anime (most recently in Kanon) it even has it’s own hit single, “Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun” (”Swim! Taiyaki”) by Masato Shimon. ... Continue Reading...

In Dango Digest, Part One, we got acquainted with the vast world of dango. In the second part of Dango Digest, let’s take a peek at how to actually make the dango. Part Two has two basic recipes for dango, some sauces, plus two “rare” dango recipes: Hanami Dango and Botchan Dango.... Continue Reading...

When you’re having fun on the go and you’re looking for snackage, food which is as mobile as you is always a good thing. In Japan, country of a thousand festivals, food mobility is an important factor to enjoying the celebrations. Many festival snacks come in ball form (takoyaki), on a stick (yakitori) or both, making carrying around your food without making a mess easy. These two snack attributes are best personified in a treat almost as old as the festivals: dango.

Dango are dumplings which can be either savory or sweet and are often, but not always, served on a bamboo skewer. Savory dango are many times covered in some type of soy-based sauce, which can either be sweet, salty or both, and can be served with nori sprinkled on top or completely wrapped in a sheet of seaweed.... Continue Reading...

Senbei, okaki, and arare, the elusive Japanese rice crackers. Or I should say, good senbei, okaki and arare are elusive. I’ve had my fair share of senbei and arare mixes, most of which have been underwhelming in terms of excitement and enjoyability. They all seem to taste the same with varying differences in texture and size. Everything tastes like shoyu (soy sauce), nori and sugar. These flavors are great, but given the huge diversity in appearance and packaging, shouldn’t there be just as many flavors to match?... Continue Reading...

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In the West, who would ever believe that anything as common as beans could ever become anything more than kick-ass burritos and tasty tail-gate chili? Beans have gotten a bad rap through the years as being poor man’s food and the “musical fruit”. Derisive songs have been sung mocking the bloating attributes of these tiny powerhouses. But in Japan, this lowly legume has transcended its humble beginnings to become one of the most widely used ingredients in desserts; Anko.... Continue Reading...

Kinako doesn’t sound good as a dessert ingredient; when translated, kinako means “toasted soy bean flour” and the kanji are written as “yellow flour” (is that like yellow snow?) To some people, the thought of soy= tofu= *blech* and the thought of beans used similarly= WTF?!... Continue Reading...

There’s a hierarchy of confections and snacks (okashi) in Japan, for those who didn’t know. At the top of the Japanese sugar mountain are wagashi. ... Continue Reading...