Kintsuba from Kusatsu Onsen

[gramarye1971]

I was lucky enough to spend several days in Kusatsu Onsen this past October, and one of the souvenirs I bought while I was there was a box of kintsuba, a Japanese sweet snack made with adzuki beans or bean paste coated in a thin batter. (Here's a sample recipe for it.) Since it's one of Kinshirou's preferred foods, from his namesake onsen, I thought I'd share a few pictures of it here!


The box, which says kintsuba on the front in fancy script, and has Kusatsu written in the little vertical box on the upper right.



The six individual blocks of kintsuba, with the label Kusatsu Kintsuba on the outside. (And a little dessicant pack to keep them from growing mold, because they're made fresh with no real preservatives.)



The interior of the kintsuba.



This particular kind was made mostly with whole beans surrounded by a matcha batter, giving it a firm, chunky texture and a faintly bittersweet taste that reminded me of dark chocolate.


I had my kintsuba with a cup of lavender sencha, which helped to brighten up the heavy, grassy aroma of the sweet. I think the Student Council would approve!

Comments

[vashtii]

Wow, that's amazing. :D Thanks for posting it for us to see.

[gramarye1971]

Glad to! They're quite tasty, and I can see how they would suit Kinshirou's grumpy old man tastes old-fashioned palate. The onsen manjuu from Kusatsu Onsen were also very good, but I had to eat those a lot more quickly because they're much more perishable.

On related food items, the Asian grocery store nearest to me also has sanshoku dango filled with anko, and I had to laugh over it. (And then I promptly bought a package of them to eat while rewatching the first season.)