Glico is currently doing a campaign in which it is offering limited edition flavors of its Pretz pretzel sticks in either east or west Japan. I am in the eastern area so I can buy this potsticker flavor along with "scallop butter" and "ogura" (sweetened red beans). I bought the bean and potsticker (gyoza in Japanese) versions and passed on the scallop version. Western Japan is getting grilled onion, yuzu koshoo, and eel. I don't much care about any of those except yuzu koshoo, which I love as a sembei flavor.
I found these at Okashi no Marche, a new discount snack shop in a neighborhood opposite mine, for 99 yen ($1.14). Each box has two 27.5 gram (about 1 oz.) foil packets of pretzels.The ingredients list really didn't reveal much about the flavoring except that pork extract and Sucralose (the artificial sweetener) are included along with typical pretzel ingredients and additives.
When I opened the foil packet, I was hit by the familiar scent of the type of dipping sauce you get with gyoza in Japan. It's a combination of soy sauce and hot sesame oil. The first bite of the sticks revealed a pretty decently authentic representation of gyoza, without the familiar wrapper's taste. They are savory and nicely salted without being overbearing. The hot sesame oil flavor has a heat build-up, but it's not really the kind that lingers on the tongue. It tends to warm your entire mouth more evenly and is quite pleasant.
These are really good. If you're a gyoza fan, and particularly if you enjoy the dipping sauce and spicy sesame oil, I strongly recommend giving them a try. I really enjoyed them, though they are, after all, only pretzels, so I can't get too excited about them.
Thanks for the review! I will be looking for these. They sound delicious!
ReplyDeleteRats! My mom adores gyoza, but all of my sources are in Kansai. Maybe these will show up at the local Japanese market...or maybe I'll ask for the yuzu kosho variety for myself. :9
ReplyDeleteThanks for these reviews; they whet my appetite on a pretty consistent basis.
(wv: "emashin": I can only emashin how tasty these are.)
Oh, man!! I wish I could get my hands on these! Yummers!
ReplyDeletemy twins surely like this!
ReplyDeleteFound these at my local 711 and mmm they are tasty! I was surprised by how spicy they were though! If you are a weakling (like me), look out!
ReplyDeleteLove your blog and love you post. I also blogged about your post:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.buddingtaste.com/adventureblog/
Do you think you can send some over to New York? I can't find them anywhere in the Japanese supermarkets in the East Village.
Hi, eat, and thank you for reading and commenting.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry, but I'm not in any way connected with the companies that make these products and I don't sell or distribute them, so I'm afraid that I can't help you with having them sent abroad. I'm just a regular consumer who buys stuff at the store. You might want to check mail order places that specialize in Japanese or Asian snacks. Good luck!