Pocky is perhaps one of the most iconic foods of Japan, and has gained such a large following from snack food lovers that it can be found in almost any grocery store in the United States.
That said, this thread aims to go beyond Pocky, as we discuss Japanese desserts that may not be as recognizable to people outside Japan, but are just as, if not more, delicious.
One of my favorite desserts is the red bean pastry. Though not strictly Japanese, the pastry I’m most familiar with has an outer shell made of dough–the inside is a red bean paste, which is made sweet by boiling azuki beans with sugar.
Wikipedia tells me that the more traditional variant in Japan is mizuyokan, which is made without the dough shell, and instead of a paste, the red bean is formed into a gelatin, which is then frozen and cut into square pieces.
