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We try milk yaki, a treat from Japan’s chilly north that tastes great but somehow contains no milk

Casey Baseel Oct 23, 2013
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As one of Japan’s northernmost prefectures, the majority of regional delicacies in Akita are things to warm the body up. For example, Akita’s most famous dish is kiritampo, a hot-pot with chicken, vegetables, and unique cylindrical rice cakes. In recent years the prefecture’s inaniwa udon noodles, thinner than those common in other parts of Japan, have also been steadily gaining fans, as well.

But while there’s nothing wrong with some piping hot chow to fortify yourself with on a snowy night, what about dessert? Sure, you could make do with a plain old pack of cookies from the convenience store, but if you want to satisfy your sweet tooth like the locals do in Akita, you need to get your hands on the pastry known as milk yaki.

Despite its popularity in Akita, milk yaki (which translates to “baked milk”) is practically unknown elsewhere in Japan. One of our reporters came across the pastry on a trip up north and picked up a few to try, because when you have a job that lets you list sweets on your expense account, you take advantage of that opportunity.

Despite the name, the star ingredient in milk yaki isn’t milk. As a matter of fact, the tasty treat doesn’t contain any dairy at all. Instead, it’s filled with anko, the sweet red beans used in a variety of traditional sweets throughout Japan and Asia.

A generous dollop of anko is wrapped in an ultrathin layer of dough before being baked in the oven. The outer surface of the finished product is dry to the touch, but biting into the milk yaki reveals that the dough is surprisingly moist and chewy.

The dough itself is mild in flavor, but that only serves to accentuate the delicious sweetness of the anko within.

So why is it called milk yaki? Apparently the pastry went by several different names in the past, but the one that stuck was milk yaki, due to its white, milky color. We still think the name is a little misleading, but agree that it’s a more appetizing moniker than some other ways they could have gone in evoking its color, such as “glue yaki” or “correction fluid yaki.”

In any case, the slight irritation we felt at the name was quickly replaced by giddy satisfaction with the flavor. If your linguistic principles simple won’t allow you to enjoy something called milk yaki in the complete absence of lactose, we recommend pairing it with a nice glass of cold milk (although like all things with anko, milk yaki goes great with green tea, too).

Shop information
Suzutame Mochiya / 鈴為餅店
Website
Address: Akita Prefecture, Akita City, Minamidori Misonomachi 2-1
秋田県秋田市南通みその町2-1
Operating hours: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (approximately)
Closed Sundays

Photos: RocketNews24
[ Read in Japanese ]