I’m making it my aim at the moment to seek out candies with a decidedly Japanese component: matcha, azuki, satsumaimo…any of the essential elements of Japanese confectionery. Thus, when at Daiso last weekend, I was drawn to this coated soybean snack, which is flavoured with kinako: roasted soybean powder used as a dusting on various traditional wagashi. I’ve never heard of Fukui, who produced this product, but I suspect they are one of the several companies that create cheap and cheerful lines for discount stores. Accordingly, I had no great expectations for this candy.
The fragrant, toasted-smelling beans, approximately the size and shape of small peanuts, are the colour of pale vanilla fudge, with attractively smooth and shiny surfaces. The packet contains a large handful (around 45g). Typical bargain-price ‘chocolate’, the outer coating is rather oily and lacking any hint of real cocoa, providing little more than a soft and sticky-sweet case for the bean within. That said, there is a detectable note of kinako that manages to compete with the sickly chocolate, but it is experienced primarily as a scent rather than a flavour.
The encased soybeans are roasted to crunchy perfection and have a rich, nutty flavour, without the waxiness or oiliness of actual nuts, giving them a cleaner, sharper bite. In spite of the sub-par coating, they are quite satisfying to eat – perfect for munching absently while watching a movie – and will be gone before you know it. While I think a luxury version of this concept, made with high-grade chocolate, could be an indulgent treat, this product for me is simply a cheap snack: it doesn’t rate well as a confection but it fulfills certain cravings in the same way as popcorn or crisps, and is certainly palatable.
5/10
Fukui Choco Daizu Kinako ￥108
The Sweet Japan Blog 