Kinako Kit Kat

So what's a Kinako Kit Kat? Don't worry I had to come home and type it into my Japanese dictionary because I didn't know either. Kinako is soy flour. They sprinkle it on mochi here in Japan - think rice taffy dipped in soy flour. Sounds delicious, right? That's one reason I avoid traditional Japanese sweets and go for the Kit Kats. There are very few mochi desserts that I like because they're just too chewy. Although I am pretty good at making mochi. It's not very hard. You basically beat at some rice with a very large stick while another brave soul sticks his wet hands in and repositions it until it achieves the right sticky consistency. (See picture.) Then you pull it out, dunk it in some soy flour and serve, or in my case smile politely and remember you left your purse unattended and should go look for it.*

My experience with mochi did not lead me to believe that I would like the Kinako Kit Kat, so I was surprised to find that I not only liked it, I really liked it. Maybe even really really liked it. It was a Kit Kat Bar so only one large finger and it was made with milk chocolate. The soy flour, concentrated in the wafers, gave it a nice nutty flavor. I've had kinako mochi before and with the rice taffy it's a little bland and sucks all the moisture from your mouth. You definitely want to be drinking something when you eat it. But kinako combined with chocolate is a match made in heaven. Soy Flour Kit Kats for the win!

Check out the mountain of kinako on the package

*Don't listen to me. Lots of people, including foreigners in Japan, think mochi is delicious. I can eat some kinds of mochi but usually I can't get past the texture.