I am currently slightly addicted to the commercial version we buy in the uk, and as Japan is notorious for it’s ceremonious ways of drinking tea I wondered if there were special occasions when rice crackers were given & of course there is.

There are 2 main categories of rice crackers ( senbi & Arare ), although both categories come in various shapes, flavours and colours.

senbei made from japonica rice are crispy, flat but come in various shapes, usually savory and are fried, charcoal baked or grilled. There are over 15 types of sweet senbi and you can also get fish senbei, lotus senbei and bone senbei. I am assuming that the lotus senbei is using the lotus flower root and the bone senbei is using fish bones but I cannot find literature to confirm this, any comments from someone with more knowledge on the ingredients for the senbei would be most welcome. Flavourings include shoyu a salty soy sauce and mirrin a type of rice wine (less alcoholic than sake). More modern flavorings for senbei may include curry powder, wasabi ( nick named the japenese horseraddish ) chocolate and a very interesting ( and new to me!) kimchi which I read about on a site about healthy eating superfoods. Visit http://:www.eating.health.com/2008/02/01/worlds-healthiest-foods-kimchi-korea/ to read about kimichi.

ARARE are made form glutinous rice and are often baked with soya beans or peanuts inside which I find particuarly devilishly moorish! These are also often coated with sesame seeds or wrapped in norimaki edible seaweed.

Nori

300,000 metric tons of nori seaweed is harvested in Japan every year and is preesed and dried in the sun in racks of bamboo mats.

Nori is not only native to Japan though. It is found in the North Sea, Pacific coasts, Baltic Sea, Atlantic and alco on Hawaiian beaches.

In Ireland & Wales Nori is eaten as a freash vegetable, called Sloe in Ireland and Laver in Wales where they make Laver bread.

Laver is black with a purple sheen and is mild tasting.

Senbi as offerings:

Senbi is often offered to visiting house guests along with green tea and during the Second World War senbi was stamped with the imperial crest as a token of recognition and presented as a gesture of gratitude by the Japanese emperor.

Senbei & Arare are distinguished by there size, Arare bing the smaller bite sized type.

Arare in cultural celebrations:

Brightly coloured Arare are consumed on March 3rd each year in Japan to celebrate girls day & Japans Doll Festival.