Taiko Milk Caramel Sticks

I've had the empty bag from this package of milk caramel sticks ("bo") in my desk drawer for about a month. The reason for that is that I consumed them happily and quickly and did not quite get around to reviewing them. I wasn't exactly waiting for any particular reason, but since this appears to be a (hopefully) permanent fixture at Daiso Japan, I favored reviewing things with limited availability over this uniquely Japanese cookie.

The reason I'm getting around to it today is not that I don't have other things to review. The truth is that I do, but I caught a cold and my sense of taste and smell have been obliterated. I can't give anything new a fair shake right now so I'm reliving the tasty memory of these cookies. After you've eaten a whole bag (not all at once, mind you), it's rather easier to recall their flavor.

I've mentioned in previous reviews that I'm not the biggest fan of caramel, so this was my last choice among the Taiko tube-shaped cookies at Daiso Japan. Previously, I reviewed their sweet potato and brown sugar varieties and enjoyed them both. There's something about their texture and balance of sweetness that really appeals to me. They're simple in terms of flavor, but not in a bad way. The sense I get from them is one of nostalgia, but not for Japan or Japanese things. It's nostalgia that relates to times when food was made in a much simpler way rather than formulated for maximum appeal from teams of focus groups and test markets. I just get the feeling someone made these and sold them without tweaking them to death to optimize sales. 

Though sometimes "simple" can mean poorly formulated, but I really do think these are made well with their pockets of airy crispness and sugary outside. The caramel flavor is very subtle, and while quite sweet, they are not cloying. The package says they are "gentle" milk caramel flavor and I say they are all the better for that. In fact, I'd rate them as second the sweet potato version (which were sweeter, but had a flavor I enjoyed more). If you add in the fact that each cookie is about 6 inches long and only 52 calories, you're looking at a sweet treat that gives a lot of satisfaction for a low calorie price.

This is one of those unassuming treats that looks rather dicey to those who can't read Japanese and are unfamiliar with this style of snacks, but these are delicious and I would invite anyone with access to them to pick up a pack and try them in one of the three available flavors. I can't guarantee you'll like them, but there's a very low chance you'll hate them. For only $1.50 (124 yen) a package, it's not much of a risk. 

Taiko Brown Sugar Sticks

The translation of the word "bo" to English from Japanese is usually "stick", but a better translation of these would be "tube". In America, I can't think of any snack that is commonly sold in this format, to be honest. In Japan, there are both savory and sweet airy, crispy tubes to be had. The style allows you to present a large-sized snack without giving a heavy volume. It's easy to eat one or two and be satisfied and have the illusion that you've eaten a decent amount without putting away too many calories. I'm sure that really has nothing to do with why these are formed as tubes, but it is a little side benefit.

Thinking about this makes me wish I could have visited a factory at which this style of snack was made. The most popular "bo" snacks are made by Yaokin, a maker of oily, spicy corn-based tubes sold in foil packages with colorful cartoons on them. I'm guessing they would have been the most likely to allow for a factory tour, but I'm not sure they'd want my gaijin (foreigner) cooties nosing around their nice, clean corn snack facility. At the very least, they probably would require me to put on a hazmat suit and an industrial-sized hair net (I have a lot of hair).

Getting back to the point, I'm guessing these are tube-shaped because they are prepared on some sort of spindle. The hole in the center is likely whatever pole they're baked around. The fact that they're oblong means the batter droops off of the stick they're hanging on as they're prepared. It is likely an old-fashioned way of making things which America never adapted as it's a younger culture and most of what we have is shaped by the cold hand of technology and the assembly line rather than a process designed to be manipulated by human hands. It feels like a bit of cultural anthropology to over-think this, but it does seem that older cultures that build their cuisine on what was once a single portion size made by and sold by hand and sold to individuals that continue the same size even in the mechanical age have a leg up on portion control. History plays a part in such things, I believe.

This is my second go at Taiko's stick snacks and they earned my trust with the sweet potato cookies I sampled before. Just as I scored those at the Daiso Japan in Mountain View, I scored these. It was a toss up between a vanilla flavor and brown sugar and this won by virtue of being on sale for a dollar/78 yen (marked down from $1.50/117 yen). Also, I love brown sugar, though it's important to note that Japanese brown sugar is different from that in America. It's hard to quantify a flavor difference, but there is either less molasses in it or a different sort in the Japanese variety.

These sticks didn't taste as I expected. Mainly, I expected a more profound sweetness (though they are sweet, don't get me wrong) and stronger brown sugar flavor. The odd thing is that they were rather less sweet than the sweet potato ones despite being essentially sugar-flavored. I also felt that, while black sesame seeds (goma) paired extremely well with the sweet potato version, it wasn't quite so natural a complement to brown sugar. That is not to say that these are bad at all. They're perfectly serviceable and have the same satisfying crispiness and light airy quality as the other one I tried and less sweetness didn't necessarily mean they weren't good. The main drawback was that there was an odd taste which I would say was somewhat caramel-like or coffee-like which I could not pin down. I didn't care much for that flavor. I'm guessing it is something about how they are baked that creates it, not an actual additive since the ingredients list is brown sugar, sugar, wheat flour, bread crumbs, corn grits, vegetable oil, sesame, caramel color and soybeans.

I liked these pretty well, but not as much as the sweet potato variety. I love the texture and crunch of this line of snacks and will definitely try other varieties, but this isn't a flavor I'm likely to try again if I have other options. If I have no other choice, I would definitely get these again though rather than eschew them.

Yaokin Vegetable Salad Umaibo

Some time ago, I bought a variety pack of Yaokin salted snacks which included 5 varieties of "umaibo". "Umai" is "delicious" and "bo" means stick. I figured that this would cover pretty much all of the umaibo I'd ever want or need to sample. These are very cheap kid's snacks, and tend to be a bit greasy, nicely crispy, and fairly flavorful. Their main appeal is in the texture, which is a large airy corn puff, and their relatively strong natural corn flavor. Though they come in different flavors, but are generally a similar experience with a backbone of savory flavors like garlic, onion, chicken, beef and pork with another flavor layer added into the mix as the dominant one. Their main appeal, frankly, is that they are incredibly cheap and come with sometimes amusing package designs.

The reason I find myself reviewing another umaibo is not that the package is claiming that they have added more deliciousness (umai uppu!), but rather that my husband was handed a magazine in a plastic bag that also included this umaibo. Free snacks! All you have to do is be on the right street corner when someone is handing out a magazine which is almost all advertising and almost no actual content. If you want to buy one for yourself, they'll set you back about 10 yen (13 cents) at most supermarkets or snack shops.

Though this claims to be "vegetable" flavor, it smells rather fishy. I'm not sure why that should be because it doesn't taste fishy. In fact, it's hard to pin down what it tastes like at all because there is a general melange of spices. The ingredients list includes cabbage, onion, bell pepper, potato, and garlic seasonings. It tastes pretty good in the way that things that are very, very bad for you can taste. There is so much oil on the exterior that placing it on a tissue to take a picture left an oily spot on it.

Since I didn't buy this, I can't really speak to "buying it again", but if someone gave me another one for free, I'd certainly eat one again. All of these Yaokin snacks are economical salted snack niceness. There's no nutrition data on these, but I imagine they're made with damaged fats and have little of redeeming value. Still, the portion size is smallish and the texture is good and they are flavorful. Next time someone gives you one for free, I recommend taking it.

Shironbo

A lot of people have fond recollections of their mother's home cooking and will reminisce about this or that food which no one made like mom. My mother, who grew up in a generation and location among people who felt that chicken which had any moisture in it whatsoever was a dangerous vehicle for salmonella, is a terrible cook. Every steak was suitable to sole a shoe. Every vegetable cooked to a state of mush, unless it came from a can in which case it was marginally heated and plopped in a wet, soggy blob on the plate.

There is, however, one thing which she made in a manner which I enjoyed and remember with fondness and that was her sugar cookies. Unlike most of the sugar cookies other people make, they are not crispy, super buttery or sweet. They were soft, doughy, lightly sweet, and had a unique texture which was a happy menage a trois of cookie, pie, and cake. They were excellent plain, though she also used them as part of a filled cookie. My favorite was dreadful canned blueberry pie filling, which added some sweetness, but mainly left a mild, moist blue indentation in the middle after I pulled the cookie apart and ate the filling as if I were dealing with an Oreo.

The distinctive aspect of my mother's sugar cookies, besides the texture, was the way in which white flour seemed to meld with the other ingredients to form a wonderful baked good flavor that one wouldn't expect from something so simple. Usually, the flour, fat and sugar are a base for other flavors, not the main attraction, but it worked in her cookies. And, it works in these cookies.

This style of cookie, called a "bo" or "stick" in Japan, is extremely common as a "kurobo" (black stick) version. In fact, you can find the brown sugar version in nearly every store in Japan. My husband really likes them, and they're supposed to be healthy because of the alkaline content. My guess is that these lack the nutritional boost, but I really don't eat cookies as part of a well-balanced diet. I'm really not that delusional.

The outside of the cookies is covered in an very thin, lightly crispy glaze of white sugar. The cookies themselves are dry, but soft, with a nice biscuity texture. The ingredients list is very short and includes flour, eggs and sugar as the main components. They're a very simple cookie made in a way that simply "works", just like my mother's simple sugar cookies.

I found these cookies at Takehachi, a shop which specializes in various Japanese delicacies with an emphasis on seafood. They also sell some dishes. They have a main store, but most of their outlets are in department stores. The main drawback to these cookies is that they are on the slightly expensive side at 315 yen ($4.09) for 10 cookies. The second drawback is the limited availability. Still, I'd certainly buy these again. If you see them, I'd recommend buying them while you have the chance.

Kurobo Brown Sugar Sticks

I often read blogs about cooking and one of the things that works a bit like a fingernail on a blackboard for me is people who talk about recipes for "Japanese bread" (shokupan), "Japanese castella" and "Japanese cheesecake" as well as "traditional Japanese baking". There are traditional Japanese baked items, but those things are all off-shoots of European culture, not "traditional Japanese baking". It's like saying "traditional American pizza". There is American-style pizza, but it's not "traditional". Be forewarned that I may be getting rather curmudgeonly in my old age. Feel free to ignore my silly crabbiness. However, I promise not to go on about having to tie an onion on my belt.

These types of cookies are a classic sweet in Japan, and as far as I know are not a derivative of a European treat. While their shape and size is reminiscent of a biscotti, the experience of eating one is in no way the same. The interior is coarse and spongy while the outside is crispy and sugary. The brown sugar exterior forms a slightly crispy "crust" which provides a pleasant textural contrast to the soft, springy interior. They smell a bit like brown sugar and molasses, but there is also an element of coffee. I'm guessing that that relates to some sort of roasting process involved in some of the ingredients.

I often say of traditional Japanese snacks that they are pretty much the same so it doesn't matter what sort you by, but the truth is that this particular treat is one in which quality seriously matters. I've had hundred yen shop versions and I've had types like this which are closer to 200 yen ($2.46). The cheap kind lack the sweet, crispy exterior and the pleasantly gritty brown sugar qualities that pricier types have. The company that makes these, Kurobo, makes a very fine version. It uses flour, eggs, and brown sugar syrup.

My students often talk about how black sugar is "healthy" and I sort of smile and move on to another topic. The back of this bag mentions that using black/brown sugar means that these have 50 fewer calories per 100 grams than those made with white sugar. I calculated the calories in each stick at 71. The web site also claims that these have more vitamins and a high alkaline content. Eating foods with high alkaline is supposed to reduce heart disease by balancing acids in the blood.

So, these "sticks" (actually, a type of cookie) are not only tasty, but also nutritious. In moderation, these would be an excellent part of a well-balanced diet. However, you shouldn't eat them for the nutrition. You should enjoy them for the brown sugar tastiness.

CV Corn Bo Cheese Flavor

One of the blogs I read is called "Cheap Eats", and occasionally it will review dollar store finds with all of the expected results. Back home, they are the sort of things that one would fear to eat like knock-off Spaghetti-Os (all of the horror, none of the brand name comfort). I'm sure all countries have their own versions of highly suspicious dollar store finds.

I am "fortunate" in that there is a shop which specializes in such things next to a discount green grocer that I frequent. This is the sort of place that is selling Halloween candy around Christmas and that often stocks special Pepsi releases long after they have vacated all the other store shelves. Clearly, they are the repository for soon to expire goods, but their prices are pretty impressive. It was at this particular shop that I was enticed by these "corn bo (stick)" snacks. A six-pack, each with 3 sticks in it, was a mere 69 yen (84 cents). Even by kid's snacks standards, this was a bargain. Most of these things are about 20 yen in convenience stores so I'm getting them at close to half price.

Normally, I might not go out and buy an unsampled food in abundance in a multi-pack, but I've had these types of bo snacks before, and it's rare that they are not palatable. It's even rarer that I have a bad experience with something which couples the awesomeness of corn and the seductive allure of cheese. Saying that makes me think that I should be writing ad copy for the makers of this product.

When you open one of the foil packets, you can smell both the corn base and the fake powdery cheese which is modestly coating them. Each is about 2/3 of the length of a #2 pencil and relatively fat and puffy. The tubes of corn snack are crispy and light, though I also thought that they seemed just a tiny bit stale. That is, they were marginally soft, but that could be simply the way they were made rather than a reflection of their age. Note that the expiration date on the bag was for June of 2011.

The taste was very much in line with what I'd expected. They are lightly flavored with cheese and carry a good basic corn flavor. They are easy to bite into and have a satisfying crunch and decent level of saltiness. They aren't as intense as some types of snacks in this genre, but they are for kids so that's not surprising.

Though these are absolutely not the best thing since Planter's Cheez Balls (which we all worship posthumously), they're a solid bit of salty treat at only 93 calories a bag and for a price that can't be beat. They're a great thing to have on hand or toss in your lunch bag for cravings or to accompany a sandwich. Sure, I wish they were a just a little crispier, a little cheesier and a tiny bit saltier, but for this price range, I'd definitely buy them again.