PrintNingyo-Yaki: Molded Japanese Cakes
Tokyo-based design magazine PingMag has a feature on the history and making of the Japanese snack cake ningyo-yaki, which translates to "fried dolls." These small cakes made by pouring batter into intricate molds—varying from Hello Kitty to a traditional lantern—are typically filled with red bean paste, but may also be filled with chocolate or custard. Grab a box on your next trip to Japan!
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5 Comments:
My family isn't actually Japanese (my dad just thinks we are) but we used to make these all the time and had fish and bamboo molds. We mail-ordered the beans to make the an and had a lot of fun doing it. They're easy enough to make at home, why wait for a trip overseas?
sarahj at 3:40PM on 02/21/08
Oh yummy. It's really like having your cake and getting to eat it too. I've actually tried it with pineapple filling (crushed, drained), and it was delicious...
levinedym at 6:14PM on 02/21/08
I was in Tokyo many years ago and there were literally dozens of people standing outside a shack where they were making these cakes. Obviously, we got in line thinking that it had to be good - why else would all these people be waiting? Unfortunately, I'm not one for red bean paste and ended up feeding mine to the pigeons. But they certainly were cute!
christianne at 8:07PM on 02/21/08
I've only eaten taiyaki from (not from Japan unfortunately but from Japantown in San Francisco,) which I'm assuming is just the fish form of ningyo-yaki. They are so tasty, but they're their absolute best when they come straight off the iron - perfectly crisp on the outside, soft and maybe even a little bit gooey on the inside. I hope to go to Japan one day and eat one (or two, or three...) I haven't actually tried one with any different fillings other than the traditional sweet red bean paste because I just love the red bean paste, but I'm curious to see what other fillings they have.
sfpaulina at 8:17PM on 02/21/08
@sfpaulina: I LOVE taiyaki! And oobanyaki! And anything like these cakes, really. I think red bean is the best (maybe because I'm used to it), but custard isn't bad either. (I mean...hello, custard is awesome.)
roboppy at 11:09PM on 02/21/08