I’m Japanese – Here Are 14 Of My Favorite Snacks I Recommend From The Japanese Grocery Store
Hi! I'm Jen, and I love cooking and trying new food. Growing up, I'd spend my summers in Tokyo with my grandmother, where I had ample opportunity to try all kinds of snacks. It was truly a blessing.
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I felt it was my duty to make a Japanese snack guide because I'm a woman of the people, and I realize that the aisles of Asian grocery stores can be pretty intimidating if you don't know what you're looking for. So, without further ado, here are 14 of my favorites:
1. Noriten "Soy Sauce Tempura Seaweed Snack"
This is a deep-fried seaweed snack, and I was obsessed with it for years. They have a similar texture to potato chips and are really satisfying for whenever those savory cravings hit. These are soy sauce-flavored, but this brand also carries a spicy flavor if heat is more of your thing.
2. Choco & Coffee Biscuits
These are small, buttery cookies with chocolate and coffee-flavored fillings, and they are incredibly good. I'm usually not a fan of American-packaged cookies (sorry Chips Ahoy!), but these are delicious. If you love coffee-flavored things, you have to give these a try!
3. Meiji Galbo Chocolates
If you're a true cocoa lover, you absolutely have to try these. Imagine if someone blended up a bunch of Kit Kats, shaped the mixture into little cylinders, and then coated the cylinders in more chocolate — they'd probably end up with something that tastes just like Galbo chocolates! They're kind of like truffles, except the center is filled with crushed-up, chocolate-soaked cookies. Just trust me, they're really good.
4. Calbee Honey Butter Potato Chips
I'm not usually someone who goes out of my way to buy a bag of chips, but these are a snack I'd do that for. They're thin and crispy, and perfectly sweet yet savory. I think I could actually finish an entire bag of these in one sitting.
5. Calbee Seaweed & Salt Potato Chips
If honey butter isn't really up your alley, these seaweed and salt flavored-chips might be. I can't really see anyone not liking these since they have such an agreeable taste. They're good. That's all I have to say.
6. Raisinne Biscuits
These are butter cookies that have white chocolate, cream, and raisins sandwiched between them, and they're great with a cup of tea or coffee. You probably won't like these if you don't enjoy eating raisins, but this is an essential purchase for all my fellow raisin enthusiasts.
7. Caramel Corn Puffs
Despite how it sounds, this isn't popcorn, and doesn't taste anything like it. These are sweet, caramel-flavored corn puffs, and are actually mouthwateringly delicious. They have the same satisfying texture as puffed Cheetos, so be warned, they can be pretty difficult to stop eating once you start.
8. Babystar Ramen Snacks
I don't know if anyone else snacked on dry instant ramen in elementary school, but it was strangely common in Hawaii, where I grew up. Basically, you'd crush up the noodles, pour the flavor packet over the broken-up ramen chunks, and eat it just like that — sans cooking. It sounds really weird, and it probably is, but it was surprisingly pretty good. Anyway, these Babystar ramen snacks remind me of that, except they taste a lot better and actually aren't meant to be cooked, unlike the noodles I described earlier.
9. Arare
Arare is a general term for small, bite-sized rice crackers, and the ones pictured above are soy sauce flavored and wrapped in seaweed. These are great on their own but are even better mixed in a big bowl of popcorn, in my opinion.
10. Pure Gummies
Pure gummies are so dang good. They're sour and coated in sugar, but they're not too overwhelming. I've had a few different flavors of this and none of them have disappointed. I also like the Ziploc-bag-style packaging since it’s convenient to save some for later.
11. Hi-Chew
I don't think I could have made this list without including Hi-Chew, because they were my one of my all-time favorite snacks as a child. They are indeed chewy, and sort of taste like fruity caramels. They're a little too sweet for me now, but any kid would love this!
12. Almond Crush Pocky
Pocky are somewhat popular in the US already, but I don't hear too many people talk about the almond crush flavor, which is elite. They're pretty much chocolate-covered cookie sticks with crushed-up almonds, and the texture is just so satisfying. They are a must-try for sure!
13. Toppo
I like to think of Toppo as inverse Pocky, because that's essentially what it is. They're chocolate-filled pretzels, although the pretzel taste is pretty muted. Another choice you can't go wrong with!
And finally, 14. Sweet Rice Crackers
I felt like it would be messed up to make a Japanese snack guide and not include classic rice crackers because these are enjoyed by everyone in my family, so that should speak to how wonderful these taste. The ones pictured above are lightly coated with sugar so they have that salty-sweet flavor, but all rice crackers are great, regardless of how they're seasoned.
