Crazy Food Mash-up of the Month: Pringles Yakisoba

One of my favorite things about Japan is how food companies and restaurants like to try crazy and wacky ideas. No idea is too strange to try. Keep your eyes open, and you'll catch some interesting food mashups.

"Ice Cucumber Pepsi"

A while back, Pepsi in Japan released "Ice Cucumber Pepsi." Why they thought mixing carbonation with anything that resembles the taste of cucumber is beyond me. One Japanese person I talked with said that for Japanese, a chilled cucumber is something Japanese like to eat to cool down during the summer. Now that I think of it, I have seen it at food stalls at Japanese festivals.

 Japanese food stall or "yatai" (屋台) selling chilled cucumber

It was a crazy combination, but that didn't stop people from trying it and posting their reactions on YouTube. You can still search "Ice Cucumber Pepsi" today.

"Shiso Pepsi"

Following that, Pepsi released "Shiso Pepsi." What is shiso, you might ask? Well, it's that broad, minty leaf the Japanese like to garnish sushi and sashimi with.

 Sashimi garnished with shiso

We have a name for it in English, although no one really knows what it is even so. It's known as "perilla" or "beefsteak leaf." A lover of shiso myself, I think I could see why they would think it was a good idea. The taste is rather minty and refreshing, so why not make a drink out of it? Unfortunately, I wasn’t around to try “Ice Cucumber Pepsi,” but luckily I happened to be in Japan when Shiso Pepsi came out. I decided I’d make my own reaction video. It’s still up, and can be viewed here! (Please pardon the bad Japanese.)




I personally liked the taste, but other foreigners I talked with told me the taste was comparable to what they imagined Pledge, or any other cleanser tasted like.

Grilled corn KitKat

A while back, I wrote a post on the various KitKat flavors put out only in Japan. You can check out a list of crazy, wacky versions of KitKat here.

"Napolitan Flavor Garigari Kun"

By far, the craziest mash-up I’ve seen in my life as a Japanese resident has been “Napolitan Garigari-kun” (ナポリタン・ガリガリ君). “Garigari-kun” is a kind of popsicle bar that has a hard outer layer, and a soft, slushy inner layer put out by Akagi Dairy (赤城乳業, akagi nyugyo).

 A normal "soda" flavored garigari popsicle

The word “garigari” is an idiophonic adjective which describes the crunchy, grainy texture of the slush inside.

 A garigari popsicle is hard on the outside,

soft and slushy on the inside

Their signature popsicle is “soda” flavored (“Soda” is a sweet Japanese flavor that is supposed to invoke the taste of “ramune,” an artificially flavored carbonated drink.), but every year, they try new and different flavors. “Napolitan Garigari-kun” is ANYTHING but what Americans like me know as “Napolitan Ice Cream." (Misspelled as "neapolitan." Has nothing to do with Napolitan gelato by the way.)

 "Neapolitan" ice cream which actually has its origins in Prussia

"Napolitan Spaghetti"

The word “Napolitan” in Japanese (ナポリタン) invokes the image of a sweet, ketchup-flavored spaghetti garnished with sliced onions, green peppers and Vienna sausages. It is said to have been very popular in post-war Japan, the middle of the Showa period. At a time when the Japanese attitude was to become more “international,” Japanese cafes tried to serve “western food” that catered to Japanese tastes, but still evoked the feeling of eating “food from abroad.” “Napolitan Spaghetti” was one of many “yoshoku” (洋食, lit. “western dishes”) served at Japanese cafes, which included other “western foods” such as “omrice” (オムライス, “omuraisu,” a portamenteau of “omelete” and “rice”), “curry with rice,” pancakes and others.

"Omrice"

"Curry Rice"

I’m not exactly sure how it happened myself, and if I had more time I could probably do more research to find out exactly, but I’m just going to be lazy and assume that some Japanese cook saw Italian spaghetti and tried to recreate in the best way he could. He already knew how to cook yakisoba, noodles already familiar to the Japanese, so he replaced the Japanese noodles with spaghetti, replaced the yakisoba sauce with ketchup, the meat with “western” meat such as “Vienna” sausages, and the vegetables with what he saw, slapped the label “Napolitan Spaghetti” on it and voila. “Napolitan Spaghetti” was born.

Yakisoba being prepared on a hot griddle

“Napolitan spaghetti” is literally prepared in the exact same way as “yakisoba”, except with “western” ingredients. The vegetables and sliced wieners are grilled, the noodles added, and ketchup is poured on top. At the time, it was served to evoke the feeling of eating “exotic western food,” pretty much how we would like to think we’re eating “Italian” when we eat pepperoni pizza, “Chinese” when we eat “chop suey,” and “Mexican” when we go to TacoBell. Actual Italians, Chinese and Mexicans disown all of these. Though spaghetti that is closer to its Italian counterpart has finally made the scene in Japan, “spaghetti Napolitan” is still enjoyed at Japanese cafes for its “nostalgic” appeal. It’s a comfort food that still evokes a feeling of the post-war “good ol’ days” in older Japanese. Perhaps this is why some people at Akagi Dairy decided a “napolitan spaghetti garigari popsicle” might be a good idea.

Speaking of which, one of my favorite "western foods" is "omusoba"; yakisoba in an omelet!

"Omusoba"

For this post, I wanted to share a recent experience I had with... (da-dodo-daaaaa!!!)...

Sour Cream and Onion Pringles Yakisoba!!!


Yes, Pringles Yakisoba.


It’s Japanese instant fried noodles flavored with that flavored potato chip-shaped snack we wall know and love!

Quite possibly the most famous instant yakisoba product is Nisshin's "UFO Yakisoba."

 "UFO Yakisoba"

The Pringles variety was put out by "ACECOOK."


When I saw this at a local grocery store in the instant noodle section, I knew I just had to try it and share my experience on this blog!

The instant noodles are prepared in pretty much the same way as a bowl of “UFO” instant yakisoba. You open the package, remove the pre-packaged sauce and dry ingredients and add boiling water to the noodles. The water is drained through the package’s built-in strainer, the sauce is mixed in first then the dry ingredients, and then the noodles are ready to eat.

I’m already a huge fan of sour cream and onion Pringles, so I already had an idea of what to expect. The noodles were surprisingly delicious! They tasted like I was eating sour cream and onion pringles, complete with crunchy potato bits!

I personally quite liked it, and it will hold a special place in my heart, but it won’t replace UFO yakisoba for me.

That was it for this month’s blog entry! I hope everyone is nice and toasty this holiday season.

Related Posts:

Japan's Obsession With KitKats

Japanese Summer Treat: Ramune

Instant Noodles in Japan

Japanese Summer Treat: Ramune

Nothing has permeated Japanese pop culture quite like ramune.

What is ramune? (Pronounced something like "rah-muh-nay")

Ramune is a carbonated drink that is bottled and sold in Japan. It is usually bottled in a special bottle that has a marble floating around in its neck. The marble usually is stopping the bottle, and it must be forcibly pushed in to open it, after which it rolls around freely in the neck. The name "ramune" is the result of an attempt at transliterating the word "lemonade" into Japanese.

As an American who grew up drinking pink, non-carbonated lemonade, I couldn't quite figure out why anyone would think this drink would have anything to do with lemonade.

As I got to know more English-speakers in Japan, however, I found out that "lemonade" doesn't exactly mean the same thing in every English-speaking country.

My Brit friends tell me that when they hear "lemonade," they think of what Americans would call a Sprite. Apparently, for Brits, "lemonade" is a lemon-flavored, carbonated drink.

Perhaps this is where the Japanese got their idea for ramune?

At any rate it is what it is.

Ramune has become such a part of Japanese modern culture, so much that it's its own flavor.

Ramune is associated with the summer, as it's a common cold drink served as a refreshment in the hot summer heat.

Something I've noticed in Japan, is that when the Japanese love a flavor, they go all out making that flavor everything.

This has happened with ramune.

There's ramune meltaway candy, ramune KitKats, ramune ice cream, and as you may have seen  in my last post, ramune yatsuhashi.

 Ramune candies

 Ramune KitKat

 Ramune Soft Ice Cream

Ramune packaged ice cream

Ramune Yatsuhashi

 Ramune yatsuhashi unpackaged

There are probably other sweets and things that I failed to mention here. I'm quite sure I've seen ramune sweet bread and donuts before.

Some of my readers who play video games may have actually seen a ramune bottle and never even realized it.

If you played the game PikMin, in the level of the Forest Navel, you will have encountered a derelict ramune bottle near some Wolliwogs, where you find the Anti-Dioxin Filter. 

Is that a ramune bottle? Yes, yes it is.

You can see a ramune bottle in the second Pikmin short movie, starting at 1:13

Yatsuhashi: The Kyoto Treat

This post was touched off by an omiyage (お土産) that a co-worker brought into work recently. He had to go out on a business trip to Kyoto and he brought yatsuhashi (八つ橋) back as a souvenir.

First off, let's talk about the Japanese custom of bringing back people souvenirs. When you go out on a trip, it's good form to bring back people you know some sort of gift, particularly some sort of specialty found in the area where you went. This is called "omiyage," and the kanji for it, "お土産," literally means "product of the earth," or "product of the land" you went to. This practice of bringing back gifts is not limited to family and/or close friends; at a Japanese workplace, if you go out on a business trip, you're kind of expected to bring everyone you're working with, some sort of gift. That gift doesn't have to be extravagant; it's usually a small packaged sweet or food. Typically what happens is, a person will buy a box of individually packed candies, crackers or cakes, with enough for the whole group.

Another word for locally produced specialty is "meibutsu," or "名物." If you ever visit Japan and meet locals, they'll want to know where you're from, and what is the "meibutsu" where you live. It maybe a learning experience; you may be forced to look up your home town, state or province to find out what exactly it is that your area is famous for. In my case, I'm from a little town called "Salinas" in the state of California. It's not really famous for anything; the only shit that ever came out of that town was John Steinbeck. That and lettuce. If you ever visit Salinas, as you approach it along Highway 101, it's nothing but fields of produce as far as the eye can see. We also have an incredible crime rate; Salinas is also famous, or shall I say, infamous for its out-of-control gang activity.

But I digress; let's stick to the topic at hand.

When it comes to Japanese confectionery, in my view, the Japanese are fond of three things; "mochi" (餅), a sticky concoction made of pounded rice, "an" (餡), sweet bean paste made from adzuki beans, and "kinako" (黄粉), a kind of flour made from roasted soybeans. Japanese sweets often include one of these things, and a lot of the time, are actually some sort of mixture of all three.

Perhaps the most famous of all Japanese confectionery is "daifuku" (大福), which consists of mounds of mochi stuffed with an.

White and pink daifuku stuffed with an

Daifuku are traditionally stuffed with an, but now you can find different fillings, such as strawberries, chocolate, ice cream, etc.

Which brings us to Yatsuhashi (八つ橋), the specialty treat of Kyoto.

This quite possibly the most Kyoto-esque thing you can get someone, which immediately tells a Japanese receiver of it that you've been to Kyoto.

In my opinion, yatsuhashi are nothing more than elegant, dainty, over-stylized daifuku.

Yatsuhashi mochi

Mochi is rolled out and cut into small sheets, and then stuffed with an.

Sweet bean paste, AKA "an."

The sheets are then folded into neat little triangles and arranged ornately.

Pat them with kinako, and you have yatsuhashi.

My co-worker thinks like I do.

He could have brought back the most run-of-the-mill yatsuhashi he could find. But instead, he chose to bring back a box which included out-of-the-ordinary flavors.

 Not shown here is the package of normal, mochi-and-an yatsuhashi. But if you can read the katakana and kanji, you would see that the blue package reads "ramune" (a Japanese carbonated drink), the yellow one reads "choko banana," and the green one says "matcha," or "powdered tea." (You can find Green Tea everything too.)

Of all of these, the ramune yatsuhashi called my attention.

How very peculiar!

A very traditional Japanese sweet that tastes like a soft-drink! I thought I had to give it a try.

The mochi had a blue tinge to it to hint at the ramune. The an was also somehow flavored.

I'm afraid I forgot to take a picture showing the filling, but it looks like any other yatsuhashi.

This one, though, was surprisingly refreshing.

Very appropriate, since the Japanese idea of a cold refreshing drink in the hot summer sun is a cold, dripping bottle of ramune.

For those of you who don't know, "ramune," is a Japanese soft-drink that usually comes in a strange bottle with a marble stuck in it.

I tried the choko banana yatsuhashi too.

Could it be that Kyoto-ites are trying to compete with Tokyo's banana?

Incidentally, if Kyoto's sweet is yatsuhashi, Tokyo's sweet is Tokyo Banana. If you're on a train and you see someone with a bag with the above logo on it, you'll know they're coming back from a trip to Tokyo.

Until the next time! :-)