Amanoya Hitokuchi Kabukiage Fried Rice Cracker Wasabi

Hitokuchi Kabukiage Wasabi layers two things that work on different parts of the palate.

The cracker is fried rice brushed with Amanoya’s sweet soy tare — the same seasoning as the original Kabukiage — and over the top goes wasabi powder.

The soy and sugar land first, warm and savoury; the wasabi arrives behind them as a sharp heat that rises into the nose rather than burning the tongue, then clears as quickly as it came.

Amanoya’s phrase for it is tsūn to sawayaka, that nose-hitting freshness.

The wasabi comes from Azumino, which the company specifies rather than simply listing wasabi as an ingredient.

The Azumino basin in Nagano sits on snowmelt from the Northern Alps, and the constant flow of cold clean water through its fields is what real wasabi needs — the plant will not grow properly without it.

Japan’s largest wasabi farm is there.

Kabukiage is named after kabuki theatre, and each cracker carries a pattern stamped into it borrowed from the form’s crest motifs; Amanoya has made it since the 1960s.

This is the bite-sized version, 43 g to a bag — smaller than the 52 g soy-sauce original, which is usual for a stronger-flavoured variant. Seven-month shelf life.

About this item
Item Name : Hitokuchi Kabukiage Wasabi
Brand : Amanoya
Item Form : Rice Cracker
Allergens: Wheat, soybean
Number of Items : 49g (Pack of 1)