Five Japanese sweets


The Western sweets- candies, cookies and so on are widely spread and loved in Japan, but in traditional Japanese cuisine there are their own sweets too. In the article we will tell about five of them.
Yokan is one of the oldest Japanese sweets, it can be of several types. In its basics lies agar-agar (a jelly-type mass) made with tengusa seaweed. The simplicity and universality make yokan one of the most favourite sweets. It is made with sweet beans of anko, fried chestnuts and sweet potatoes.


Manju can be found in numerous confectioneries and souvenir shops in Japan. These are small cookies the outer layer of which is made with wheat or rice flour and the kernel is made with the beans of anko and sometimes with crushed chestnuts or sweet potatoes.


Dango is dough cooked in water or on a steam, which is equally loved both by the adults and by the children. It is made from sticky rice flour and served by laying several dango on a skewer.  As a sauce, they serve with dango beans of anko or a paste of sweetened soy beans.


Kasutera (kastella) is a biscuit, the receipt of which was brought to Japan by the Portuguese in the 16th century. It differs from other biscuits in firmness and sweetness. It is often covered with sugar crust, which gives the cookie a texture and additional sweetness.

kasutera F.A

Maybe oshikuru is not the most decorated one among the Japanese sweets, but the rich and saturated taste of sweet beans of azuki, help people to get warm on cold winter days.  It is usually served with dough of mochi or dango. In cold weather this sweets can even be bought canned from the selling machines.


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translated from Armenian into English by M.Vardanyan