Exploring Senbei: A Journey Through Japan’s Time-Honored Rice Snack
taizoyokhamatotsuka
“Senbei” is one of the oldest snacks and still popular.
It is a familiar food for Japanese people that you can buy at convenience stores or supermarkets easily.
Senbei is made by baking pasted rice or rice cake and giving it a flavor using soy sauce and salt.
Senbei is said to have been introduced from China 1000years ago but it became broadly eaten since “Soka Senbei” got popular a few hundred years ago.
The Story of “Osen”
The woman named Osen who carry on tea shop thought the way to sell leftover of “Dango” dumpling.
She flattened the dumplings and baked them as “Senbei” and started selling them. Soon it became popular and now it is one of the best seller snacks in the country.
Senbei is now popular among all generations and sold as one of the major souvenirs.
Various kinds of Senbei
There are various kinds of Senbei nd they are as follows:
- Baked Senbei – the original and regular kind of senbei
- Nori Senbei -Senbei covered with Seaweed
- Age Senbei（Fried Senbei)
- Nure Senbei(Wet Senbei)
- Salad Senbei (Not made from Salad but coated with salad oil when being baked)
- Sugar Senbei
Arare is also a kind of Senbei
Senbeis also come in different sizes like Arare which is smaller than ordinary Senbei and also has various kinds. They are as follows:
- Kaki-No-Tane (Seeds of persimmon)
Similar to Seeds of persimmon, but not real persimmon. It is a popular spicy snack that goes well with beer. - Nori-Maki
Senbei covered with Seaweed. - Genkotsu
Stiff and having a strong taste of Soy sauce. It goes well with Shochu (Kind of Japanese endemic liquor)
Because it is made from Rice which is the most familiar ingredient in Japan and soy sauce tastes, Senbei is one of the most typical Japanese snacks. I recommend buying it as a good souvenir in Japan.
