Hey guys!
I have showed you so much Japanese food, and drinks and snacks and everything
But the stuff I'm going to show you today
is probably my ultimate favourite thing to eat in Japan
Traditional Japanese sweets, or "wagashi"
I have dying to make a video for you guys about this stuff
because I just love it!
and it's a lot different than anything you can find in N. America or Europe
I hope guys are as interested in it as I am
So yesterday I went shopping in Asakusa
Asakusa is great for traditional Japanese stuff
and they have SO many wagashi shops!
So if you're ever looking for wagashi, totally recommend shopping in Asakusa
First I visited one of the most famous wagashi shops in Asakusa
It's located right near kaminarimon
And the name of the shop is Kamejyuu
They are famous for their dorayaki
So I bought some dorayaki there
and I got 2 other things from that shop
So I'm gonna start by showing you guys those things
All right, so this is a dorayaki
What it is, is it's 2 pancakes
and in the middle there is red bean paste
This is actually my first time trying a dorayaki from this famous shop
So I bet it's really yummy
The size of the dorayaki that they sell
is a little larger than other ones you will find
and it looks super yummy!
So I'm going to cut that in half
and show you guys what the inside looks like
All right, so here it is!
You can see the red bean paste inside there
They also have a white bean paste version
But this is their best seller
so I thought I should get this one
Japanese sweets are best eaten with matcha or green tea
I don't have any of that today
but if you guys are ever to eat Japanese sweets
I totally recommend having them with green tea or matcha
because Japanese sweets are not super sweet
and they just go perfectly with green tea
All right lets try it!
Itadakimasu!
Mmmmm
I can definitely see why they are famous for their dorayaki
This is so much better than any other one I've ever tasted!
The pancakes are really fluffy!
and the bean paste is not super sweet at all
So even if you're not into super sweet stuff like cake or cupcakes
I'd definitely give Japanese sweets a try
They're definitely pretty low on the sweet side, which is pretty cool
Ok the next Japanese sweet I have to show you is from the same store, Kamejyuu
and it is the monaka!
Now this is pretty similar to the dorayaki
It is 2 thin wafers made out of mochi
and in the inside is shiro-an
or white bean paste
This is actually the first time I've had a shiro-an monaka
That's really yummy!
The wafers are really delicate
They almost dissolve in your mouth when you bite into it
and again the bean paste isn't super sweet at all
It's a very subtle sweetness
The next wagashi that I have here is kintsuba
Again, this one is made with sweet bean paste
What they do, is they take a cube of sweet bean paste
and then they dip it in a very light batter
and they fry each side individually
So they'll stand it up on the grill like this and fry that side
Then turn it to fry the next, and so on
So you get a very delicate battery that coats the bean paste
Normally you would eat wagashi using a specific utensil called a youji
But I don't own one so today I'm going to eat them with chopsticks
All right so here's what it looks like
You can see the thin layer of batter on the outside
Let's try it!
I find that the red bean paste has a stronger flavour than the white one
So if you're kinda iffy about trying bean paste
I would recommend starting with the white one
I love it, so the red one is good for me
I really like this
I like the delicate batter, it's nice
It's not heavy at all
Again, would be really yummy with tea!
So this next one is my absolute favourite wagashi
It just looks beautiful, and I really love the flavour
It is called nerikiri
Can you see the gorgeous colour
and the detailed floral pattern that it has
Nerikiri are made using a mixture of white bean paste
and a soft mochi called gyuhi
and after that, once you've made your paste
you can mold it into whatever shape, whatever colour you like
So they've very interesting
You can find gorgeous designs if you do a search on google for "nerikiri"
And again, if you're looking to try these, check out Asakusa
They had the awesomest assortment of these
They're just so much fun to look at, they're beautiful
Again, this would be eaten using a youji
But let's use chopsticks today
The texture of these is amazing
What can I compare it to...
It's like a marzipan
But a lot softer and creamier
and it dissolves in your mouth a lot faster than a marzipan
But very similar
This is definitely my favourite of all wagashi
I really recommend that you guys try it if you come to Japan
If you're ever involved in a Japanese tea ceremony
this is the most popular sweet that they will give to you with your tea
So if you're able to participate in a tea ceremony
definitely recommend that, because you will probably get to try
some nerikiri out when you do that
You can see how soft it is when I cut it here
Can cut it with barely any pressure
The last Japanese sweet that I have to show you guys today
is something that is super gorgeous
but I've never gotten a chance to eat
and I'm always looking at them and wanting to try them!
So I definitely wanted to do that today with you guys
Aren't these so pretty?
Like the nerikiri, these also come in many different shapes
and colours, and with different fillings inside
I didn't know the name of these
But someone on Twitter helped me out and told me they're called kingyoku
So if you want to search for those on Google you can do that
Aren't these pretty? I can't wait to try them
They're just a simple jelly
and you can fill them with whatever you like
Fruits, or bean paste shapes, or other little jellies
There's beans in there, some azuki beans in there
Let's try one!
I think I'm gonna try the kiwi one
because it's so pretty
Look at that
This is a chestnut
Kingyoku are often eaten in the summer
because they're seen as a cool and refreshing treat
Just the look of them looks very summery and refreshing
I have no idea what this is going to taste like
Let's try! Itadakimasu!
Oh the jelly is really thick!
It's like a really thick jello
They jelly itself is flavoured too
It's really sweet
Mmm that's really yummy
Tastes very similar to jello
It's like a jello, with a thicker (closer to gummy candy) consistency
This is actually one of the sweetest out of all the things I ate today
It's a lot sweeter than the others
I hope you guys enjoyed this video on wagashi (Traditional Japanese sweets)
There are so many different kinds
I just showed you guys a few of the main ones
But there are hundreds!
Definitely google "wagashi" if you're interested in seeing more
There are so many beautiful patterns of the jelly ones I showed you
and the nerikiri type
If you guys have ever tried wagashi yourself
please let me know down in the comments which ones are your favourites
so I can find some new ones to try
Thanks for watching and I'll see you guys soon, bye!
This video was made as part of the YouTube Space Jidaigeki Program