{"id":259,"date":"2011-08-26T08:00:55","date_gmt":"2011-08-26T12:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oyatsubreak.com\/?p=259"},"modified":"2013-07-28T17:01:37","modified_gmt":"2013-07-28T21:01:37","slug":"review-ichibiki-otsumami-3-varieties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oyatsubreak.com\/?p=259","title":{"rendered":"Review: Ichibiki Otsumami – 3 Varieties"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review: Ichibiki Otsumami \u201cLight Snack\u201d 3 Varieties
\n<\/strong>\u201cSoybean\u201d, \u201cPeanut\u201d, \u201cMixed\u201d
\n<\/strong>Purchased: August 2011
\n<\/strong>Best Before: August 19th<\/sup> and 24th<\/sup>, 2011
\n<\/strong>Review: August 22, 2011
\n<\/strong>Website:<\/strong> http:\/\/www.ichibiki.co.jp\/lineup\/product\/shokuhin5.html#otsuna<\/a><\/p>\n

I\u2019m really enjoying the seasonal, warm-weather \u201cbeer snacks\u201d, salty snacks meant to be enjoyed with a beer (or two, or three). On my August trip toNew York, the JAS Supermarket, a Japanese Import Market, had these three snacks on clearance while I was visiting, and so I had to pick them up.<\/p>\n

And since this evening my good friend Shane Bennett came over to have a beer while we cleaned the apartment, I figured I should break out the beer snacks and do something of a group review. I should note that Shane has spent a bunch of time in Japan, including a stint as a bartender. He knows his beer snacks, so I was really excited to get his impressions.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Packaging: <\/strong>It\u2019s a little hilarious, apparently, I realize the extra joy in having someone who can translate the packaging around.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis up in the corner, the starburst, says \u2018Your Beer will get more and more tasty as you eat them!\u201d says Shane. \u201cOh, and it says it\u2019s \u2018Can\u2019t stop snacking!\u2019 flavour.\u201d<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t stop snacking flavour, what a treat!<\/p>\n

The packaging is foil pouches, although unlike the ostensibly higher-end Pretz, it isn\u2019t re-sealable (despite the fact that there are apparently two servings in a pouch). The package has a big glass of beer on it, and big letters that says \u2018Otsumami!\u2019 or \u201chonourable light snack\u201d (similar to Oyatsu). There\u2019s also what looks like a photo of the contents on the outside, depicting edamame, spicy peanuts, and a mix of different nuts and beans. All of the photos have the same text along the bottom though and I ask Shane what it means.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt says \u2018The photograph is an image,\u2019 or basically it\u2019s an illustration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ah, pictures can be deceiving.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Scent: <\/strong>We cracked open the edamame ones first and, in my mind, I kind of assumed they were dried wasabi peas, something like that. Opening the package we quickly discovered that, these unrefrigerated packages I picked up two weeks ago are actually edamame. Boiled edamame. Soft. And they smelled like boiled edamame. It was very disconcerting.<\/p>\n

Cracking open the other two packages, we found that they were also\u2026 soft. And smelled like nuts, beans, and legumes, that\u2019d all been boiled about an hour or so ago, give or take. The boiled peanuts smelled strongly of the black pepper seasoning as well, but seeing as they were coated in it, that\u2019s not surprising.<\/p>\n

Shane: \u201cI thought they\u2019d be crunchy delicious dried snacks, but when I smelled fresh beans I was disappointed, not what I was expecting at all.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I\u2019m going to be honest\u2026 the edamame bag did not smell good. It smelled like boiled edamame, deeply boiled. Those were also the ones that were two days after the best before, and I almost backed out of tasting them. But it\u2019s been about 2 hours now and I haven\u2019t died yet, so it looks like we just squeaked under the wire of freshness.<\/p>\n

Taste: <\/strong>Both Shane and my husband Andrew looked to me to try the snacks first, and so I dove in with what I thought would be the worst one first, the edamame.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like eating Edamame! Without the shells of course, just the beans. Moist beans, actually, which was as disturbing as that first whiff of them. But biting into a handful you get a strong edamame flavour, a lot of saltiness (no visible salt, I should mention, all absorbed) from the salt and MSG (probably lots of MSG), and it really makes you want a beer. I reached for mine immediately and, sure enough, a light Japanese lager likeSapporoand salty bar snacks go great together!<\/p>\n

Shane: \u201cI don\u2019t like that they\u2019re sweating. It\u2019s like eating peeled edamame without the salt. Lukewarm<\/em> peeled edamame without the salt.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Then we went onto the peanuts, and the boiled peanuts are just a bizarre texture. They still have a peanut taste, though considerably dialled-back from a roasted or even raw peanut. The peanuts are dressed with salt, a ton of black pepper, more MSG, and I actually liked them a lot. Having a couple of handfuls, they coat the inside of your mouth a little and really tasty salty and peppery, they interacted with the beer great.<\/p>\n

Shane: \u201cI think you\u2019d really have to be like, a salaryman or something to get into them. \u2018Bring me my mushy peanuts and soybeans!’\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew: \u201cThe peanuts look like they\u2019re supposed to be spicy on the package\u2014they\u2019re bright red. But they\u2019re not. The package looks like cayenne, but they\u2019re not spicy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shane: \u201cThe photograph is an image.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris: \u201cHah!\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew: \u201cI think if you hadn\u2019t told me they were peanuts, I\u2019d be happier with them. If you told me they were peppered beans or something.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Finally we tried the last package, the mixed beans. According to the package they contain peanuts, chickpeas, black soybeans, peas, soybeans, salt, msg, and food colouring. The texture is similar to the other two mixes, but with the addition of the chickpeas and the other beans, it\u2019s much heartier. It\u2019s the least-salted, but it\u2019s still quite tasty (possibly because of the residual salt from the others. And the MSG.) I like the flavour quite a bit, and they have a heartiness that would really go well with pounding back beer after beer at a Japanese snack bar.<\/p>\n

Andrew: \u201cI like the mixed beans the best. They go with drinking. They\u2019re like a meal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chris: \u201cYou get a full protein! It\u2019s vegetarian friendly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andrew: \u201cIn the mixed one, the soft peanuts really blend in. I\u2019m okay with the peanuts being soft here, they\u2019re just another bean. It\u2019s sooo hearty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shane: There’s something unsatisfying about shaking the little bowl of these and not hearing them rattle around. It’s just sort of a dull thud. It’s disappointing.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Verdict:<\/strong> These are not your western bar snacks, this is some next-level stuff right here.<\/p>\n

I think part of the problem is actually a cultural difference. According to Shane, all of the packages say that the snacks are \u201cGerman style,\u201d or actually \u201cGerman use,\u201d to be literal, but I\u2019ve never heard of boiled nuts as a bar snack\u2026 but then Western (North American especially) bar snacks are kind of pathetic. Coming out of a culture of Puritanism it seems like we demonize drinking more than a little, and the idea of a little snack to go with your beer is basically unheard of unless it\u2019s dried and packaged. Sure you can get wings or a burger at a restaurant that serves beer, but if you just wanna sit at the bar and have a little something Beer nuts and peanuts are the alpha and omega of your options. I\u2019ve walked into bars in Sapporo where they have served me a freshly made salad with my first drink, all in a space that\u2019s about half the size of my apartment.<\/p>\n

So yeah, approaching a Japanese bar snack in a little foil package and having it be cooked and seasoned beans, legumes, and nuts? I can\u2019t help but feel that part of my reaction to it is just being raised in a different culture, one that\u2019s frankly a little lacking in this area. But in my defence, those edamame really did smell a little funky. They tasted good though, they all did. They were super exciting snacks, and I\u2019d definitely try all of them again with my favourite probably being the peanuts.<\/p>\n

Ichibiki\u2019s Otsunami are real elbows-on-the-bar, come-on-have-another-drink type snacks. I can get behind that. But I\u2019ll let Shane have the last word.<\/p>\n

Shane: \u201cThey\u2019re good\u2026 They\u2019re shibui<\/em>, they\u2019re for tough guys like cops and grizzled old men, and we should be having them with an Oolong-high and a pack of Lucky Strikes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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