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When it comes to the complexity of Japanese food it's easy to get sidetracked by sushi and ramen, but why not save some room for dessert?
Japanese Traditional Sweets hold equal epicurean appeal with talented artisans creating creating an array of sweet and savoury driven desserts in a variety of colours and textures.
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Here are 10 traditional Japanese sweets worth knowing made using traditional ingredients and techniques and pictured in the food infographic below.
Japanese Traditional Sweets
Arare
These bite sized Japanese crackers made from glutinous rice and flavoured with soy can be sweet or savoury.
Daifuku
Daifuku (meaning big luck in Japanese) are small, round cakes that come in various colours and are made of soft mochi stuffed with sweetened bean paste.
Dango
Dango is a Japanese dumpling and sweet made from mochiko (rice flour) and usually served on a skewer, as shown below.
Dorayaki
This red-bean pancake consists of two small pancake-like patties made from castella wrapped around a filling of sweet Azuki red bean paste.
Manju
Made from flour, rice powder and buckwheat these small sweets have a filling of anko (red bean paste), made from boiled adzuki beans and sugar.
Mochi
These Japanese rice cakes are made from mochigome, a short-grain japonica glutinous rice. The rice is pounded into paste (watch how here) and molded into shape.
Monaka
Azuki bean jam sandwiches two thin crisp mochi wafers together.
Sembei
A type of Japanese rice cracker that's usually baked or grilled and served with green tea.
Yatsuhashi
Made from glutinous rice flour, sugar and cinnamon when eaten unbaked this sweet has a soft, mochi-like texture and is often eaten wrapped around red bean paste.
Yokan
This thick, jellied dessert made of red bean paste, agar, and sugar is usually sold in a block form, and eaten in slices.
