What are these snacks we're eating?

I've mentioned that we're eating kanten, crab sticks and things like that.
Just in case someone doesn't know what they are, I decided to write a post about them.

Kanten
Kanten is known as agar in English. It's a kind of jelly made from algae. Sounds gross, but it tastes pretty good. We usually buy it in the convenience store in a little pack like this.

You can get different flavors. It's really just like Jello, but a bit firmer.


Crab Sticks
Crab sticks are popular anywhere.  A lot of people know them as "krab" or "imitation crab" on the label of stuff.  It's made from some kind of white fish (Dukan actually explains this one in his book).  I really like the taste of them, and they come in little plastic tubes, so you can just squeeze them into your mouth (if you are so inclined). You can also kind of squash them with a knife to separate the fibers for salads and other dishes.

Sasakama
Another kind of fish cake (or kamaboko). This one is made from white fish as well, but it's steamed, and then roasted. They have a chewy texture and are quite good cold as a snack.  I love these.

Kamaboko
Kamaboko is basically the most popular kind of steamed fish cakes in Japan. They are usually colored pink and white, and used for celebrations like New Years. They come as a kind of loaf on a block of wood, and you can cut it into however thick slices you like. Rubbery, but pretty tasty.

If I can think of anymore snacks from Japan that we're using on the diet, I'll try to add another post.