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Re: Japanese sweets

Hi,

There is a whole RANGE of Japanese sweets (or wagashi)....

Some use rice flour, some use mochi, some use wheat flour,
some use kudzu (japanese veggie "flour" that cooks up like clear
gelatin), and I don't know what else!  Fillings also range 
from black bean paste to green pea paste (seriously :-) to
chestnut paste to no fillings.... I *think* the main division
is "dry" and "wet" (roughly speaking.... sort of like the difference
between cookies & cream cakes).  If there is a specific kind
you're interested in, I can try to see if I have a recipe that
I can translate (I have a couple cookbooks in Japanese).

Most of them are LF to VLF (much better than eating western style
desserts in Japan, anyways).  However, they are usually too much work 
to make IMHO. Maybe you can look for a Japanese grocery store, although 
I don't usually eat the sweets I can buy in the stores, since they are 
far inferior to the stuff in Japan. Things may be different if you live 
near a LARGE Japanese population like NY/NJ or California.   If you find
a decent oriental grocery store, they might have these "kits" to make kudzu
desserts, comes complete with beanpaste, and they are fairly authentic.
Or they might have canned "mizu yokan".  These two kinds are the "water"
type (so they are rather moist and should be eaten cool/cold).  BTW most
Americans don't like sweet bean paste (at least the ones I know)... just
a warning.

sigh.... I really do miss sakuramochi... :-(  

Aiko 
 

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