Once again I throw myself on the potential hand grenade of Asian treats with Botan Rice Candy that I got at World Market. These were only like a dollar and I dug the outer box with a kitty jug and a flower that looks like it's made of slices of ham, then the other side had some sort of pants-less baby with a microphone. Wacky! Plus it promised that there was a FREE CHILDREN'S STICKER inside. Hooray, a candy with two-in-one choking action!
As I opened the box I saw that the flap said that each candy had an edible wrapper. Ah, we meet again, my Rice Paper Nemesis! Only this time I am on to your evil ways. So I took out a candy and stuck the whole thing in my mouth without taking off the wrapper.
I had the candy in my mouth for about 30 seconds and the wrapper had yet to dissolve. What the hell? The I noticed that the flap said that each candy had an edible inner wrapper that melted in your mouth. So basically I just tried to suck the plastic wrapper off. Rice paper 2, Sea Hag 0.
After being outsmarted once again by rice paper, I popped the plastic-free candy in my mouth. It was very good! It has a good orange flavor, actually it tasted like Fruity Pebbles or Froot Loops. And the texture was really good, very chewy but not sticky.
As I went around and told everyone about this candy, I was irritated to find that this is practically the only Asian candy that everyone has already tried but me. Sigh. How could I have missed the Botan Candy boat? It must be that rice paper. It hates me.
The sticker I got was a picture of a girl kneeling in front of a window. She was looking very calm and serene. I made it into a magnet. I like to think she's meditating on ways to help me get revenge on the makers of rice paper and imprisoned her in her candy box jail for so long.
Candy news! Some guy in New Zealand found a treasure chest washed up on the beach... full of candy bars! I must move to New Zealand.
5 comments:
I used to get Botan Ame when I was a kid in Southern California, and back then, it came with toys inside -- the Japanese equivalent to Cracker Jacks.
Like everyone else, they have downsized their surprises inside, but I like your interpretation of the sticker.
Also, I know you had an unfortunate encounter with White Rabbit but that's because you chose the wrong flavor. The Milk Flavor is one of the best candies -- as long as you can get it fresh, while it's still chewy instead of stale & hard. Plus it has an awesome wrapper. There is the rabbit in front of the painting palette, which is so cool my friend Quick had it tattooed on her arm, and then on the edge of the wrapper is a completely different style of rabbits either boxing or perhaps engaging in foreplay.
However, as with Botan ame, that inner edible wrapper is weird.
Thank you so much for sharing your candy experimentation. You are a candy pioneer!
Nina
I don't know if you'll be able to answer this for me, Nina, but what's up with milk-flavored candy in Asia? The one's I've tried are good, but it's not a flavor that I've seen any other area produce.
That's a great question. I don't really know. I've seen that, too, and I usually like the flavor in Asian candy.
Maybe it's because Japanese don't use milk the way Americans do, as a daily drink or something to pour on cereal. Based on extensive anime viewing, I think milk is something you drink after you've gone to the public bath; it doesn't seem to be a regular part of the diet, nor does cheese (?), although ice cream treats (like parfaits)? Japanese are crazy for them. At least, teen girls are.
Milk may seem like an exotic flavor. This is just an uneducated guess.
If you want to try something really weird, pickled plum candy is the way to go. I don't recommend it except as an experiment. (The pickled plums are salty and sour. In the middle of candy.)
Nina
I've read somewhere that Asians are mostly lactose intolerant because, unlike people in the U.S., they don't drink milk after they are babies so their bodies stop producing the enzyme that breaks down lactose. (I'm mildly lactose intolerant because of the same thing). So maybe you're right, that milk is exotic because it's not normally a part of their diet.
The only animes I've ever seen are Inuyasha and Trigun and Cowboy Beebop and I don't remember any public bath/milk scenes. I guess I need to broaden my anime horizons.
Sea Hag is right. see more horribleness at www.thebrcgallery.com
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