Japanese candy will ruin you.

It's ruined both of us... it's so good, we can't help but be addicted.

Rice candy has always been Allison's favorite. It has a yummy, light, citrusy taste, there's a really cool edible rice paper wrapper that melts in your mouth, plus you get a sticker in every box.

And when a bunch of adult (children) get a hold of a bunch of rice candy stickers... things like this happen:

Then you have the traditional, centuries-old Konpeito. Still made by hand, this colorful sugar candy is traditionally given as wedding favors.

Did you know there have been 105 different flavors of Kit Kats made, 97 of which are completely unique to Japan?

Flavors like:

Aloe Vera

Aloe Yogurt

Apple

Apple Vinegar

Azuki (red rean)

Banana

Beet

Bitter Almond

Black Tea

Blueberry

Blueberry Cheesecake

Bubblegum

Brown Sugar Kinako

Cacao 61%

Cacao 72%

Café Latte with Hokkaidō Milk

Calpis (a yogurt-flavored drink)

Caramac

Cantaloupe

Cappuccino

Caramel

Caramel and Salt

Caramel Macchiato

Caramel Pudding

Cheese

Chocolate Banana

Chocolate Overload (milk chocolate outside, chocolate creme filling, and chocolate wafers)

Cola and Lemon squash

Citrus Pepper

Cookies & Chocolate

Cookies and Milk

Cookies PLUS

Creamier Chocolate

Creamy Apple

Cucumber

Custard Pudding

Dark Chocolate

Dark Chocolate with Cookies for adults

Daigakuimo (sweet potato)

European Cheese

Exotic Kansai (sweet chocolate with a sour mix of orange, lemon, and passion fruit accented with ginger)

Framboise (raspberry cheesecake)

Fruit Parfait

Ginger Ale

Green Grape Muscat

Gold (petits with fudge-like covering and dusted cocoa powder on outside.)

Golden Peach

Hazelnut

Hascapp (Hokkaido blueberry)

Houjicha (roasted tea)

Iced Tea

International Recipe (chocolate made from Ghana cocoa beans)

Itoen Juu-jitsu Yasai (vegetable enriched 'veggie'.)

Jasmine Tea

Jyagaimo (potato)

Kobe Pudding

Kinako (soybean)

Kinako Ohagi

Kiwifruit

Kokuto (black sugar)

Lemon Chocolate

Lemon Vinegar

Mango

Mango Pudding

Maple

Matcha (green tea)

Melon

Mild Bitter

Milk Coffee

Mint

Mint Chocolate

Miso

Mixed Juice

Noisette (hazelnut)

Orange

Passion fruit

Pepper

Pickled Plum

Pineapple

Pudding

Pumpkin

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Ramune (a soda drink)

Raspberry and Passion fruit

Relaxation Cacao

Rose

Royal Milk Tea

Sakura (cherry Blossom)

Sakura Macha (cherry blossom green tea)

Semisweet

Sour Orange

Soy Sauce

Sports Drink

Sparkling Strawberry

Strawberry

Strawberry and Cranberry

Strawberry and Milk

Strawberry Cheesecake

Sweet Potato

Tiramisu

Tiramisu Macha (tiramisu with green tea)

Triple Berry

Ume Soda (plum soda)

Vanilla Bean

Wa Guri (chestnut)

Wasabi

Watermelon and Salt

White Chocolate

White Peach

Wine

Yakimorokoshi (grilled corn)

Yuzu

Zunda (mashed edamame beans)

We tried the Pumpkin Cheesecake flavor... which tasted more lemony than pumpkin cheesecakey.

Apparently parents in Japan give them to their children for good luck on test days.

Milkys, a sweetened condensed milk candy, are Rachael's favorite.

Hello Panda cookies are another childhood throwback for Allison, and one you've probably seen in a store near you!

Why is Rachael making us eat purple sweet potato mountain mushrooms???

Allison was intrigued by them... and it turns out that those Kinokono Yama Murasaki Imo (purple sweet potato mountain mushroom candies) are ridiculously addictive... as odd as they may sound.

On a whim, Allison decided we should try this Golden Sesame Candy... and now we're both addicted. (Oops.)

They taste like those Chinese fried sesame mochi balls that are often found in Chinese buffets (and Vietnamese bakeries), plus Rachael has a recipe for sesame brittle that tastes pretty similar.

Rachael wanted to try another Milk Soft Candy that was pretty similar to the Milkys, except much softer.

Lastly, the classic Hi Chews.

(Which,

Happy New Year!

In this episode, we talk all about the Japanese New Year.

It's a big deal.

You'll find out why it's a good idea to plan way ahead if you want to order food for your Japanese New Year celebrations, and why it's a very, very bad idea to go shopping at an Asian market on New Year's Eve.

There are all kinds of food eaten on New Year's Day:

sushi!

kuromame - make sure you eat 1 bean before noon

osechi ryori

mochi (often eaten as ozoni) - this should be breakfast or first thing to be eaten on New Year's Day

renkon no sunomono (marinated lotus root)

tazukiri (soy sauce-sugar-glazed baby sardines)

kuri kinton (candied chestnut and Japanese sweet potato mash)

tai no shiyaki (salt-grilled sea bream)

On New Year's Eve, many Japanese families eat toshikoshi soba.

And a week later, on January 7th, it's probably a good idea to have some nanakusa gayu (7-herb rice soup) to cleanse your palate from all the rich food you've probably been eating! (We know we have!)

Who are we? Why are we doing this podcast?

We are Miso Hungry! (We hope we make YOU so hungry, too!)

Allison

Writes the blog Sushi Day

Is half Japanese, third generation Japanese-American (her grandmother came over to the US at age three)

Never even tried sashimi until she was an adult

Is now trying to make up for her very Americanized childhood by educating herself as much about her Japanese cultural background as possible

Rachael

Writes the blog La Fuji Mama

Is not Japanese (She has a German/English background)

Moved to Japan with her husband to live and teach English 10 years ago; they later moved back, and their 1st child was born there

Has adopted many Japanese traditions at home with her family

We want to make Japanese food and culture accessible to everyone. Because it's awesome. And we want you to know that.

We're not just about teriyaki, sushi, and miso soup. We want to get you past the Benihana stereotype of what Japanese food is... because there's so much more to Japanese food!