The Ninja Diet of Feudal Japan

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INGREDIENTS & RECIPE
2 ⅓ cup (450g) raw sugar.
¼ teaspoon (1g) glutinous rice flour
¼ teaspoon (1g) non-glutinous rice flour
3 tablespoons (19g) cinnamon
A couple slices or (19g) yam
¼ cup (19g) dried lotus seeds
2 tablespoons (19g) coix seeds
An inch or (1g) Asian ginseng root
1. Crush all of the ingredients and mix together.
2. Line a steamer with parchment and add the mixture. Steam for 10 to 12 minutes or until the mixture has melted. Carefully remove the mixture and pour into a bowl.
3. Stir until the mixture is cool enough to handle, but don't let it cool so much that it becomes difficult to shape.
4. Shape the mixture into small balls then place them on parchment to fully cool and dry.
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#tastinghistory #ninja

[@Lauren.E.O]

“Yes, these were ninja hardtack.” *(clack clack)* One day, there will absolutely be a video compilation of hardtack variations from around the world.

[@TastingHistory]

I’d love that

[@Taolan8472]

@@TastingHistory i think we'd all love that

[@subtleknife1073]

This is slowly morphing into the hardtack channel, isn't it? (No complaints.)

[@toneddef]

Hardtack is this channel's nutmeg!

[@limeparticle]

hardtack.gif

[@joshuakim5240]

These might have not been the main diet of ninjas, but rather something similar to chocolate in world war rations: emergency energy boosters. It would explain the absurd quantity of sugar and why it's recommended to feed to horses for energy since they'd be energy supplements.

[@ragnkja]

These seem a bit tastier than D rations.

[@darthplagueis13]

Most certainly. If you were to live on nothing else but these for a few days, you'd probably run into a bunch of issues, chief among them probably constipation (because they're basically all sugar and no fiber) and possibly some health issues related to the copious amounts of cinnamon in these, since cinnamon contains coumarin which is not healthy in large quantities.

[@typhvam5107]

makes perfect sense, better than using rice for those purposes, also sugar keeps fairly well as it kills bacteria so far lower chance of something made predominantly made of sugar of spoiling. The roots i wonder what are they for, probably some herbal medicine thing, if it has any real effect or not would be curious to know. The cinnamon balances out the sugar (and gives flavour), i can see this working fairly fine for a week or two

[@lushedleshen]

@@darthplagueis13 the coumarin thing is a myth. The quantities of herbs you’d need to consume to get a medically significant side effect are absurd. This stems from the FDA cracking down on companies using pure coumarin as an adulterant to replace vanilla. In THOSE quantities, yeah, I’d be concerned. Coumarin is technically a precursor to a blood thinner, but it’s not going to spontaneously react and become a blood thinner in your digestive tract.

[@swytchblayd]

Pre-modern era energy boosters. Makes sense.

[@gatocles99]

The "ninja" hunger pills were actually just common Japanese travel food of the era. Everybody made it and used it. Like Yesterday's hardtack and portable soup, and today's beef jerky and corn nuts for a road trip. That being said, it is very useful information. Also, some of the "hunger pills" had herbs that were specifically to prevent traveler's diarrhea.

[@ThisNameWasTaken0]

You’re right. I saw ninjas use it in the documentary ‘Naruto’.

[@w415800]

There is no way it's common, considering the cost of sugar alone

[@jobi6953]

@@w415800 There might have been some variation depending on what was available in different areas. My guess is the sugar is either substituted for honey or simply omitted completely.

[@alexanderhood8993]

@@shadowsonicsilver6 well batman wasn't unintentional ninja considering that he was trained by a actual ninja and/or was trained by legendary assassin who In turned trained league of assassin who is quite literally a ninja clan so batman being a ninja wasn't accidental if you read about the lore of Batman training you'll find out that batman is a intentional ninja.

[@sethguest781]

Very true, can totally picture a ninja, far from his clan's castle, stopping in a secluded area somewhere to replenish his strength. Downing enough of these til he's satiated, moves on with his mission. Basically, going by your info, these were generally an early variety of MRE.

[@Meoiswa]

Loads of sugar, loads of flavor, and some ginseng and other medicinal things. These were basically energy drinks in solid form, very clever!

[@DEADMALLANGEL]

I was thinking the entire time "this is basically a feudal Japanese Monster" (as in the energy drink, not like... a yōkai)

[@arobotwithepilepsie6053]

I wonder what it would taste like if mixed in water...

[@Ironclad17]

G fuel

[@mwater_moon2865]

Bonus is that cinnamon contains coumarin which is an appetite suppressant-- much like caffeine in energy drinks. Be careful though, it's also bad for you in high quantities (was a rat poison) -- much like caffeine....

[@ShebbaRod]

@@DEADMALLANGEL yōkai would be a really cool name for a japonese energy drink xD

[@zenkakuji3776]

In feudal Japan, commoners were limited by law as to what color clothing fabrics they could wear. This included Indigo (blue) and brown so the recommendation for a ninja to wear these colors to blend in makes sense. Also, looking forward to the segment on making 飢渇丸 (Hunger balls) 3 years from now. May I suggest creating a short teaser segment now that includes just the creation of the sake infusion so some viewers can start their own sake soak in preparation as well??? Marking my calendar now! Arigatou!!!

[@debrathornley2974]

Ooh! I will make the balls now too, if you provide us with the recipe! It could be a really fun livestream!

[@23Lgirl]

Ninjas are mostly a myth

[@jemm113]

@@23Lgirl not really. Every civilization has some form of espionage and Shinobi were a more institutionalized form of spy, not unlike the US’s, with people being trained in acts of espionage, survival, and fighting. The lack of texts is likely because people were taught directly from masters or regularly had their manuscripts destroyed to avoid techniques falling into the hands of enemies. Many were actually samurai themselves that disguised themselves for missions that could normally hurt their reputation. While some texts on ninjas are known to be fraudulent, a fair amount of it is historically accurate to the best of our knowledge. The ridiculous spy gadgets of the 20th century go a long way to dispel most doubt that spies in medieval times wouldn’t have come up with odd instruments of their own. Especially those that have been tested to work.

[@marcosdheleno]

@@23Lgirl yes and no, they did exist, but of course, most of the modern imagery of ninjas are made believe. i wouldnt even put it past themselves as rumours they made on their own to scare and aquire more jobs. but basically they were spies and assassins. something that many cultures had as well. its just that they got their own lore and myths around them.

[@zenkakuji3776]

@@debrathornley2974 I searched for an original recipe posted on a Japanese forum, and this is the translation of the recipe. I have not confirmed with the original source. Note that there is a "fast-food" method for Ninjas on the go that just can't sit around for 3 years.... Hunger Maru (Rounds or Balls) is a ninja's portable food that is written in the ninjutsu secret book "Bansenshukai" in the early Edo period. According to " Illustration / Ninja and Ninjutsu Definitive Edition-Ninja / Mystery / Secret Collection (History Group Image Series) ", "It is close to the taste of unripe bananas". How to make (3 grains) ① Ginseng 150g, buckwheat flour 300g, yam 300g, dried hakobe (ear grass) 15g, pigeon wheat 150g, rice cake flour 300g are all powdered, and 2 sho of sake is poured and mixed lightly. ② Leave it for 3 years until the sake dries. If you are in a hurry, put it on a fire to remove the water. ③ When the sake dries, knead it well and roll it into peach pit size balls (about 4 cm in diameter). It's done. ..... Could a modern food dehydrator help out with the process? After all is said and done, these are expected to taste like unripe bananas. Hmmm. Not really my fave as far as tastes go. I actually prefer well ripened bananas. I guess as Hunger Balls go though, these might do the trick when starving. You certainly won't be tempted to gorge on your stash with that taste in your mouth! 🤣 Itadakimasu!!! (A polite phrase offered before eating anything)

[@hiselbii5326]

About the cut off heads: In ancient Japan when you killed someone in battle (or in an assassination), you had to take their head as evidence, so you could collect your reward later. But if you were in battle and killed a lot of people, carrying all those heads could be hard. That is probably why the scroll teaches us how to attach them on a horse. If you still had trouble carrying them all, you could just keep the nose and get rid of the head, since the nose could be enough to prove your kill.

[@kirbyculp3449]

And now we know how the japanese Pinochio earned enough money to retire by the age of thirty.

[@ltcinsane]

The funny thing was they were apparently even sillier in the early samurai era, i remember reading of a case during the mongol invasions where a hot headed samurai lead his men in a fool hardy charge against the commander's advice got whooped came back with the remaining troops & demanded payment. XD

[@RikuIshmaru]

Another note here is that the “nose” also has to include the upper lip; as it was to include the mustache to prove that you didn’t try to turn in a woman for the reward.

[@SarafinaSummers]

Why do you think there was a pyramid of ears and noses after the second world war in Korea, thanks to Japan?

[@Serai3]

So basically, "be sure to save your receipts".

[@regeoberon3676]

Lots of video games have used things like "medicine balls" or "pellets" as healing items. I never really thought about it, but they were likely referencing these hyorogan. Medicinal ingredients thought to heal you from your injuries? Sounds like a video game item to me, but hey.

[@EvanYoungMusic]

Pellets from Sekiro.

[@user-hm4yi7um9d]

As soon as I saw this my head went to the food pills from Naruto.

[@Meoiswa]

Those pellets and pills are more closely related to medicinal ones, as in healing, and "cultivating" pills, secret alchemical recipes meant to "strengthen the Qi", reverse aging, or other mystical things.

[@2avcrm]

now you just need to find the cat glowing in the sunlight and you are ready to start your quest.

[@Narokkurai]

Admittedly, medicinal pellets were fairly common in feudal Japan. An experienced physician would have known how to mix and combine all sorts of remedies into portable balls, which you could bite into or crush and dissolve into water. Hyōrōgan would have been in this tradition.

[@rummskullvonchang]

Some of these have echoes of dwarf bread. "The dwarf bread was brought out for inspection. But it was miraculous, the dwarf bread. No one ever went hungry when they had some dwarf bread to avoid. You only had to look at it for a moment, and instantly you could think of dozens of things you'd rather eat. Your boots, for example. Mountains. Raw sheep. Your own foot."

[@sinvector8020]

GNU Terry Pratchett

[@spawniscariot9756]

@@sinvector8020 Always missed, never forgotten

[@susanmaxwell6033]

GNU Sir Terry.

[@sethrivers5303]

The only baked good in the known universe that's improved by having cats pee on it! GNU PTerry; that was a hell of a mental image, though....

[@Julia-lk8jn]

RIP Sir Terry Pratchett, we love you.

[@00Klingon]

Fun fact: Kaopectate used to use a form of clay as an active ingredient called 'Kaolinite' to absorb toxins and sooth the stomach. Today they use Bismuth subsalicylate which is the same active ingredient in Pepto. A compound derived from minerals. It would seem that Ninja knew their medicine.

[@thatalbinofurry6855]

Kaolinite? Like, as in kaolin clay, which is commonly used as a clotting agent in bandages?

[@joshuawells7415]

​@@thatalbinofurry6855Kaolin clay has been eaten to soothe nausea in what is now Georgia since before the colonists arrived.

[@tilasole3252]

Charcoal can also help with toxins or poisons in the body. And as a lining in clothes as a first defense from chemical attacks. And used for water filtration.

[@merrianith2589]

"They weren't turtle, they were actually ALMOST exclusively human". Well, this left space for a tiny population of non-human ninjas.

[@marcosdheleno]

well, there are tales of ninjas training and making use of various animals, mostly dogs, but also frogs(probably something like hidding something inside a frog, or in a lake with frogs).

[@lhfirex]

This might account for some of the ninjas that worked for the samurai cats of Japan.

[@mwater_moon2865]

You need to meet my child's ninja gerbil. It climbs the top of its cage upside down ALL THE DANG TIME, runs on the outside of it's wheel, and happily leaps 3 times it's body length to snag the edge of a ledge she likes to be on-- even though there is literally a log toy that is an inch away from the ledge.... Though once doing her acrobatics she fell and knocked herself out, gave us all a horrible scare, we thought she was dying.

[@davidclark9619]

Teenage mutant ninja tortoises

[@Belgand]

@@lhfirex Do any records survive of the pizza-like food that they traditionally prepared?

[@robertcornhole5197]

The "ninjas wearing all black" image came from Kabuki theater, from the 17th century onwards! Without being able to dim the lights in between scene changes, stagehands wearing all black would rush in to change the set. It was supposed to indicate that they weren't part of the play and should be disregarded. So having a ninja character also wear black would mess with your expectations because you had been conditioned not to pay as much attention to them. Or they could even do some sneaky "4th wall" stuff where they blend in with the rest of the staff but SURPRISE! IT'S A SPY!

[@eagle162]

That's not actually true, that's a popular theory but doesn't hold water when ninja were in the story they were dress in flamboyant outfits.

[@leongolgo9950]

I think if you saw a theatre hand operating outside of a production it wold be quite jarring.

[@eagle162]

@@AnimatedStoriesWorldwide sorry don't quite understand your broken English. Or half-assed attempt of a insult.

[@Antonio-fl3nr]

Nice

[@icarusbinns3156]

I think one particular theater would have the stage hands wearing all black, but if he was carrying a sword, then you’ll know he’s actually in the story. I think. Not totally sure on that. As a former stage hand, you’d think I would know it

[@joshschneider9766]

The Ninja museum in Iga is run by the Iga clans official grandmaster. He's mentioned these in several documentaries on ninja history. I'm sure he'd give you his recipe. They give demos on the weapons use, I can't see the food recipes being secret. Ill try and dig up the contact info if you want. Cheers as ever Max!

[@owenparris7490]

Wait, they're still around?

[@tilasole3252]

​@@owenparris7490 This may help a little. I heard some where there is a survivor of the clan, a descendent rather. But I do not think this link talks about it, but I can not find the other. kzbin.info/www/bejne/f6C9aauwfL2baKsfeature=shared

[@Kamamura2]

Movie simulacra never die! ;-)

[@necrophage5248]

I could definitely see the particular recipes for the mission food being secret. Herbs and medicine in specific amounts. And prepared in ways to preserve the medicinal components. Like adding certain ones after cooking. Example Adding gensing in equal amounts as you roll the balls.

[@MegaZeta]

And the museum and the history of ninjutsu is a fraud originating in the mid-20th century, yes.

[@sonipitts]

Another fun bit of trivia: The information on how to properly tie someone up was called shibari, which some folks in the comments might recognize as the art of aesthetic erotic rope bondage. The whole point of OG shibari was to be able to control the restraints to achieve the desired result (including torture using stress positions and circulation impairment that could be tightened, shifted, and loosened readily and easily as well as in very specific ways and areas), and to ensure your restraints properly fit the size, build, strength, and shape of your captive, while at the same time ALSO creating a pleasing arrangement of ties and knots, because bob forbid you do anything in Japan, including restrain and torture your enemy, in a manner that isn't also artfully aesthetic 😆

[@rebeccaburrow7199]

They take "if you are going to do it you might as well do it well" to a whole new level 🤣

[@Ristro44]

... Now I'm curious how a legit torture method found its way into the erotica scene. Fascinating.

[@zacharylandes5109]

@@Ristro44 Funnily enough, being able to control the pressure and restraint of ropes on someone in order to position them how you may has use in that scene. It was kind of a natural development, I feel

[@Earthenfist]

@@Ristro44 I mean... whips. Chains. Hanging people from their arms... The 'plum'...

[@sonipitts]

@@Ristro44 I mean...most of them have, tbh.

[@chunkymilk]

honestly impressed how you’re able to churn out quality videos so frequently.

[@TastingHistory]

I wish I could do more; it’s been a while since I’ve had a Drinking History. But thank you!

[@justintr4888]

@@TastingHistory I'm still itching to know what's in that Easter Island bottle on one of the Drinking History shelves!

[@TastingHistory]

@@justintr4888 pisco from Peru

[@Taolan8472]

@@TastingHistory do you have a bar set up in the new place for Drinking History or will we be treated to the same lovely view of your kitchen?

[@justintr4888]

@@TastingHistory Thanks! I looked it up, sounds tasty.

[@kuriboh635]

I made these about 5 years with ingredients from the local Asian market. My aunt loved them so much I only ate 3 and she would eat them at work. She would constantly ask me to make them but I never had the time before she passed but I've been thinking about making them again since I'm far closer to that market and it does taste great

[@jugo1944]

I hope she didn't starve to death

[@slimee8841]

"And they literally mean "hardbaked", and can last for years" YES, SAY IT "Yes, this were Ninja hardtack"

[@TheMeloettaful]

That was me too! I was like "YAAASSSS!!" lol 😂!

[@jenniferstrover1276]

CLACK CLACK

[@ceruleanvoyager1847]

I will never not laugh at that

[@crains8087]

living for that clip

[@SisterMaryTatas]

We were alllll waiting for it! XD

[@sean.alphonse]

About the head/nose thing, Japanese soldiers were often rewarded based on head collection of enemies. For samurai it was proof they'd done their duty, but for the average person having someone's head was like your job resume. Particularly after the rise of Oda Nobunaga who elevated peasant warriors (see Toyotomi Hideyoshi), people would bring heads to the local daimyo as a way to curry favor. Regular villagers and bandits would sometimes catch retreating or fleeing people of interest after campaigns if they could - after the Battle of Sekigahara, Ishida Mitsunari (whose forces had just lost) was captured by villagers and given to Tokugawa Ieyasu (who had won). After large battles or conflicts, daimyo would often have a "head-viewing ceremony" where the heads were washed and cleaned and had makeup applied and done up nice for the daimyo to inspect, sort of a way of seeing the prowess of your army in action. You mentioned Imagawa Yoshimoto - he was a powerful daimyo who was up against Oda Nobunaga in the race for Kyoto. The Imagawa army had taken a lot of territory initially and so Yoshimoto indulged himself in a little head-viewing ceremony and his army had taken off their armor because it was hot and started relaxing, which allowed Nobunaga to charge directly into their main camp from the mountains at Okehazama and they killed Yoshimoto. Tying heads to the horse was a way to show your achievements when the battle was done and to show you'd done your job if you were a samurai. If the head was too much or it would take a while, you could present noses instead especially if there were lots of dead - check out "hanazuka" or "nose tombs" and you'll find more information on it.

[@Sphenkiller]

I mean, I'm pretty sure they cut off the noses to prevent the heads from smelling...

[@esmith8818]

@@Sphenkiller Ha! I see what you did there

[@LoJo]

@@Sphenkiller boo! 🤣

[@Ristro44]

Fascinating! Thankyou so much for sharing. I suppose everyone needs a head to move and a nose to breath (usually) so its more accurate than say a finger or an ear.

[@dnisey64]

@@Sphenkiller 😂

[@CriscoSnowflake]

The hardtack *clack clack* gag never fails to make me chuckle.

[@kuchenjaeger2164]

"Can you touch your nose with your toungue?" is a fun thing to ask at parties. "Can I count your teeth?" will never not make you sound like a serial killer.

[@thecommonsenseconservative5576]

What country are you in? That's a fun KZbin game

[@janetmackinnon3411]

Hey , I'm a king!

[@jacobb5484]

@@janetmackinnon3411 seems like it’s based on the level of malnutrition and hygiene at the time.

[@Gaspode257]

and now imagine the one you ask has 38 teeth xD

[@geekfreak2000]

A max quotes compilation should be made lol

[@jreese46]

I remember reading about how the Army required emergency rations to taste ok but not great, so they would be edible but still there when you really needed them.

[@kevinsullivan3448]

You just described the 1st generation of MREs as used by the US Army and Marines. On average, C-Rations tasted better, but the steel cans were a pain in the rear.

[@vigilantcosmicpenguin8721]

Huh, that's got to be an entire art and science of its own.

[@reddixiecrat]

Just add a little Texas Pete hot sauce and any MRE tastes good…almost

[@thomasbecker9676]

Enter Steve1989.

[@jreese46]

@@thomasbecker9676 The hero we never knew we needed.

[@dmd_design]

I am an American living in Japan and these Japan videos are so wonderful. Japan’s food culture now, despite western influences still shows evidence of it’s past and some dishes have literally gone unchanged. A quick note, in Edo time period there was a particular type of red rice that was widely in use. Currently there are only two farmers that i know of who still grow it. In early 2020 I volunteered to help plant the rice. The farm uses no machines or chemicals. The water comes directly from a spring that comes from underneath Fuji-san and is filtered through volcanic rock.

[@Null_Experis]

Just FYI, Japanese yams have FAR less water in them than western yams, so account for that if making these with western yams.

[@RonJohn63]

_Western_ yams as in "fat sweet potatoes"?

[@zenkakuji3776]

Although not the same flavor, I have substituted canned pumpkin for mashed yams. Definitely, the water content is different. Also, ginseng tea powder is a convenient way to add ginseng to this recipe without going through the challenges of crushing the dried root oneself. Not the same as using fresh yam or freshly crushed ginseng root, but practical alternatives.

[@parkchimmin7913]

@@RonJohn63 Yeah, for some reason, grocery stores in the US label sweet potatoes as yams when they look nothing alike.

[@fluffytom82]

@@RonJohn63 aren't yams and sweet potatoes completely different vegetables? To me, yams are whit/light yellow, and available in Asian and African stores. Sweet potatoes are deep orange (common) or purple (less common) and freely available in grocery stores.

[@strider04]

@@fluffytom82 they are different, yams are from africa, and asia, where as sweet potatoes are from south america, they arent related at all

[@EliotChildress]

Hi from Japan! Great video! About the yam… it may be necessary to use Japanese yam. I’m not sure about American/European yams, but I know Japanese yams basically turn to snot when you crush them and might be better for bringing the balls together. This snot is a very important ingredient in many Japanese dishes.

[@Taolan8472]

European sweet potatoes simply do not behave the same as asian sweet potatoes when cooking.

[@christenagervais7303]

Snot! Lol!

[@EliotChildress]

@@esprit101 lol I didn’t even realize the way it sounded when I wrote it. It’s just the best way I can describe it 😅 I too am not a huge fan of the slimy texture. And I applaud your bravery with the chicken. But when said snot is cooked into okonomiyaki… it turns into one of my favorite meals.

[@debiesubaugher]

Maybe substitute chia seeds?

[@CrizzyEyes]

@@esprit101 Wow, I'd never heard of that and I've been to Germany many times as I have family there. I'd never touch raw pork though. Have had enough bad experiences just with improperly cooked pork.

[@CatchThesePaws]

It’s so cool how energy bars today are very similar to these! I wonder how many foods are the same

[@ApprenticeWriter]

A note about the ginseng- please, PLEASE make sure you source that responsibly! The plant is getting more and more rare around the world, to the point where it's being poached even on private land, due to its traditional medicinal values, same as things like rhino horn.

[@seleneyue]

Worse, wild ginseng is seen as having more medicinal properties, and the older it is the more valuable, which means people are looking for them in really deep mountainous forests that should be protected

[@thecommonsenseconservative5576]

Thank American reality shows for that

[@kaitlyn__L]

@@seleneyue holy crap 🤦‍♀️

[@famousamos778]

99.9999% of all ginseng you find on the market are grown on farms like carrots and sold in bulk. If someone tries to sell you "wild" ginseng that costs less than a million dollars, it's a scam. (Because genuine wild ginseng literally costs a fortune these days, read about the one found in Korea a few years back) In the USA there still are legit wild American ginseng, which is what you're probably referring to. But those are diff from what's used in the hyorogan. American ginseng is "cooling", the exact opposite of Asian ginseng and good for women on menopause.

[@Taolan8472]

So the "tongue" may be a poetic translation or code. Much of the texts that became the "Ninja Scrolls" were encoded in addition to needing translation, and it is possible some of that coding may have been the use of metaphor. "Tongue" is often used as a metaphor for a person's spoken mannerisms. A person with a "long and thin tongue" may speak for a long time but using statements of little substance. A person with a short and pointy tongue could be someone who speaks in harsh language. The tongue that sticks out past their nose could refer to someone who overshares or boasts. Similarly "ascend the throne" in this same context could mean that person is a valuable source of information, if you can sift through the exaggeration.

[@ragnkja]

The bit about teeth definitely couldn’t be literal, given that humans don’t have more than 32 teeth.

[@Taolan8472]

@@ragnkja it could also be a mistranslation of numbers.

[@thelittleredhairedgirlfrom6527]

Good point

[@Ristro44]

Love this! Thank you so much! Feels a lot less awkward 😅

[@mwater_moon2865]

@@ragnkja Unless you have Hyperdontia or supernumerary teeth. I had a roomate in college who had an extra set of them, she lost baby teeth twice in grade school and had to have her wisdom teeth out twice-- once in HS and once in college.

[@TheMiyacat]

How is the sake soaking going Max! One year down, two to go!🙌 Thanks for another amazing episode

[@Cashbans]

Now 1 year🎉🎉

[@jacquelyns9709]

When Max talked about the large amount of cinnamon in this recipe after telling us it has lots of sugar, all I could think about was cinnamon sugar. When we made it, we put loads of ground cinnamon in the jar with the sugar. It was very dark but there was still more sugar than cinnamon. The pre-mixed jars in the grocery store are a pale, wimpy substitute. We ate this occasionally for breakfast: Recipe for Cinnamon Sugar Toast 1. Butter your sliced bread well. Place it on baking sheet (Rimmed or rimless.) 2. Sprinkle on lots of cinnamon sugar. Cover all the butter. 3. Put under a heated broiler until it has melted and pitted. Don't let it burn. 4. Take out, let cool slightly, and eat. The top will be crispy and crunchy. The bottom will be soft. Use a full size oven or a toaster oven. Don't use a toaster!

[@rejamrejam]

This food INSTANTLY transports me to my childhood. The other favored poor people dessert we ate (yes, we had this as dessert in addition to breakfast!) was white rice with butter (aka margarine) and white sugar. I still eat that sometimes when feeling sad. I remember the Tupperware shaker container my grandma kept her cinnamon sugar in!

[@Ristro44]

Thankyou for your recipe! :)

[@teleny2]

This works very nicely with thinly sliced cheddar cheese in there as well. And it's the only recipe I can say I got from the novel "Name of the Rose".

[@annasstorybox7906]

Yea... Cinnamon mixed into semolina porridge is awesome... Honestly... Semolina porridge itself is underrated...

[@runitemagic]

I will never not break and cackle like a mad man when the clip of Max tapping the hard tack together pops in

[@alisaurus4224]

CLACK-CLACK

[@adamengelhart5159]

I started grinning when he said "hard baked," thinking "oh, I know where *this* one is going . . ." :-D

[@NullElemental]

for me its the look of utter despair on his face in the knowledge that he has to at least try to eat some XD

[@MelancholicKnight_]

Love this channel, so great. Love the mix of the casual talking tone, the history lessons, and cooking parts, such a good mix. So interesting.

[@themigmadmarine]

Perhaps a left field thought, but if you ever start doing traveling episodes, try to find a museum railroad who will let you near one of their steam engines, crews have done some fascinating cooking with and on their locomotives over the years, from the basic bacon and eggs on a shovel in the firebox to things like smoking fish over the smokestack of wood fired locomotives in Finland and baking bao on the boiler in Mongolia. The Nevada Northern Railway has done a book and some videos on the subject.

[@stargirl7646]

Wait really?? That’s so cool!

[@leongolgo9950]

That sounds like some hungry mf's who ain't seen home in a while.

[@thecommonsenseconservative5576]

Ah Nevada. And today the engines are used to keep things warm, know from firsthand experience

[@Vincent_Beers]

@@stargirl7646 Any job that works near something hot tends to find a way to use it for cooking. The origins of "pittsburgh steak" are from iron workers that would bring a raw cut of meat with them to work, throw it against the pots of molten metal which would sear the meat and then eat it, charred hot on the outside while still rare inside.

[@thepokemontrainer6094]

This is why I love max miller, he tells history without mentioning anything that is inaccurate or stereotypical when he’s telling the story. Literally you have taught me so much more than just food. If it wasn’t for you, the stories I write would have been just like any other historical story.

[@readypetequalmers7360]

what is an example of something that is stereotypical that one could say on this topic?

[@thepokemontrainer6094]

@@readypetequalmers7360 ninjas wearing black clothing, ninjas being assassins the typical stuff that KZbinrs who don’t do research do the Hollywood stuff basically.

[@guppy719]

You say that in the episode with old Japanese stereotypes about tongues and hands.

[@thepokemontrainer6094]

@@guppy719 yeah something like that but also other Japanese modern stereotypes.

[@falsenames]

@@readypetequalmers7360 When I was a kid in the 80s and 90s.... Only a ninja can kill another ninja, and all ninja are rebel samurai that killed their masters. Yeah, I believed a lot of idiotic things as a kid, and I can only hope I've grown since then. Even touching on the whole stereotype of ninja wearing all black and having some sort of uniform that would give them away is pretty ludicrous. Max pointed that out, saying they would wear blues and browns. Even white on nights where there was a full moon. From what I can tell, Max does his research, and this should be the standard on the Internet. At least from the Celtic episodes (I'm of Irish and Scottish decent, and have an amateur understanding of my heritage), I can tell he's consulted with experts and tries his best to get as much accurate as he can. So far, I have only seen Max show respect to every region and history he has touched on. I've sent a few episodes to friends from other areas of the world and they have appreciated his dedication to attempt to pronounce various names correctly and to get to the history behind what is being discussed.

[@jonathanpanlaqui1855]

Hyōrōgan is a ninja food made from sugar, glutinous rice, yam, lotus and coix (job's tears) seeds, cinnamon and ginseng root, used to provide energy for the ninjas, another kind of ninja food is a type of senbei (rice cracker) called katayaki senbei, a thick but hard senbei used as their ration to provide enough energy in case of ninja missions. And there's toy Greninja on the top of bamboo steamer near him.

[@visionplant]

The Giyoshu manual which is a much older source (17th century) has it's own ration recipe made from pine bark, ginseng, and white rice, which is mixed, powdered and formed into spheres. These spheres are then steamed.

[@isabelled4871]

So pine bark is edible? Interesting. (Well there are sweets made with pine resin and honey so it's logical but I've never heard of eating the actual bark) Would love to know more about pine bark recipes

[@Mockingbird_Taloa]

@@isabelled4871 I can only speak to an Indigenous American context, but I'd imagine the preparation is/was the same/similar in Japan. The thin inner bark layer of pine trees is rich in sugar. The roots are usually preferred (this is usually a cold season food, and most all the sugars in the tree are stored in the roots then; during the warm season, the bark of the trunk might be the better bet). Young trees (1-5 years) are best as they're less fibrous and tough. The bark would traditionally be striped off, beaten, and then boiled. If dried and pulverized fine, it makes something resembling porridge. It can also be used as a thickener when added to a meal, similar to cornstarch. It adds a piney-citrusey flavour (pine is high in Vitamin C & combats scurvy!); some trees have an overbearing taste approaching turpentine, others are sweet and fresh. There are a very few varieties of pine that can make you sick (though you wouldn't likely be able to swallow much, the taste would be so bad), so it pays to do some research on what grows locally if you have any plans on experimenting! There are a lot more trees besides cinnamon with edible & medicinal bark; there are places you can find them online if you've trouble locating some locally (or just don't want to go through the fuss and bother of preparing it yourself, understandably!). Mountain Rose Herbs is a good place to start if you're in the US/Canada. The inner bark could be used as an infused tea (ie, you can get the flavour of it without having to beat it for hours, you just won't get as much sugar), but it's much easier (and better for the tree) to just make pine-needle tea if you want to try the flavour of it.

[@isabelled4871]

Thank you for the détailled explanation. Europe here. I don't think I'll go through the trouble though :) but it's fascinating to know. I've had pine needle tea before (spruce pine) very nice taste if made with fresh needles (which it was)

[@Chocobo0Scribe]

When it comes to ninja, “truth is stranger than fiction” definitely applies.

[@23Lgirl]

Ninjas are mostly a myth

[@Pharaoh_Tutankhamen]

@@23Lgirl So is u

[@guyver441]

@@23Lgirl that's JUST what a ninja would say! 🧐

[@ultimateninjaboi]

@@23Lgirl i mean... all considered, thats a more misleading than helpful statement. But sure

[@marmotarchivist]

“Occasional assassination, act of sabotage and a smidge of arson”. I’m putting that on my CV.😜 I can’t wait to see the three-year-balls. And please do the ninja hardtack. There can never be enough hardtack content and it would be interesting to compare the different types you made.

[@cantsay2205]

For the refeeding syndrome thing, it's really no joke! In 2020, I almost died, and I'm not sure if it was a result of the shock of the experience and aftermath, but I was basically incapable of eating a full meal for a couple of weeks. Being able to finish a turkey burger after the first week was a major accomplishment for me, and I lost about 10 pounds in the 2 weeks following the incident. So yeah, I can imagine what would have happened if I had just decided to eat a ton of food anyway after that, it wouldn't have gone well.

[@jrmckim]

I'm a nurse who had patients with anorexia and bulimia. Refeeding syndrome definitely is not a joke and can be fatal sometimes. I lost a young bulimic patient from it. It was to the point of not being able to hold down any food. Her body would violently reject it. We tried feeding and ng tubes. Her kidneys started to fail and after that, it was a domino effect. Very sad stuff. 😔

[@bijpls4059]

​@@jrmckimomg that's fuckin horrible 😢

[@MarginalSC]

It does make sense that they'd be low in rice content if they were made to be stored for a long time. Sugar will keep quite a while as long as it doesn't get wet.

[@georgewachsmuth9201]

The….”that doesn’t sound right”…in reference to the crushing of these, had me laughing out loud. Thanks again for another incredibly well done video. (By the way….several comments in this video had me laughing)

[@Belgand]

Secrets of ninja CBT.

[@bellisperennissturdivant]

same, laughed.

[@grimgrahamch.4157]

I recall Voices from the Past doing a video on Ninjas. Some things I notably remembered were that a ninja master must be well travelled, fluent in the etiquette and dialects all across Japan, and must have a family. That last part was likely so that anyone who hired them had something they could use as collateral to make sure they don't go rogue.

[@hiroht72]

Im Japanese and lived in Japan all life and I learned very many things from this video (and comments). Thank you!

[@ashuri89]

I've gotta say, yours is just about the only channel on KZbin where I look forward to Japanese episodes! Being bilingual I really appreciate the efforts you go to to actually pronounce things correctly.

[@markb5249]

I've seen much worse, but he's also not pronouncing the long vowels as long vowels. For example, the focus of this video is hyou (long vowel) rou (long vowel) gan.

[@ashuri89]

@@markb5249 I'm ok with that. His stress isn't always where I'd put it either, but I'll take that over other KZbinrs (and television!) not bothering to do any research or just asking and instead just reading it however they think it should be read ("key-yo-do" for Kyoto, "togo-yakkey" for takoyaki, or just giving up and not trying)

[@RvnKnight]

Fun tidbit on the heads point in the video: Taking the head of a defeated warrior was a sign of honor and how the Lord knew for certain that you had killed the right person. If the head was incomplete they knew that it wasn't you that killed the target unless you could place the correct missing parts back to the correct head. As there was often a bounty placed on those heads, it wouldn't be paid until the complete head was presented. Taking the nose off a bounty allowed the actual killer to still be able to claim the bounty if the rest of the head was stolen.

[@powersteamracing]

1. Love the Greninja placement 2. That hard tack bit gets me every time LOL

[@chronicawareness9986]

i love how you try to pronounce things correctly in the language... dude your killing it... you deserve it

[@TastingHistory]

Thank you 😊

[@mKierstenk]

I'm scrolling through the comments in disbelief that there's not one single Naruto reference, and stumbled across your comment (which I agree with btw) and then I noticed you have the leaf symbol as your profile pic. I just had to ask- did your mind immediately go to food pills and increase your appreciation for Naruto or am I alone in this world? XD

[@chronicawareness9986]

@@mKierstenk lol =)

[@sabin97]

@@mKierstenk what's a naruto? is it some kind of ramen?

[@potato-yc1fr]

I noticed that too. Very impressed with his knowledge and pronunciation.

[@staceywatson1921]

You crack me up. I am Sitting here, giggling, listening to your commentary! Your stories are great and your humor, relatable. Thank you for your hard work!

[@countessli]

There are so many cultures that have some iteration of hardtack, and that fact is both interesting and somewhat distressing for me. Due to sensitive teeth, hardtack is an experience I do not want to repeat 😆

[@ragnkja]

Hardtack is more of an ingredient than a food.

[@Taolan8472]

Well most hard tacks were not intended to be eaten hard. The hard dry cracker is for storage and transport. The intended method of eating is often to soak it in water or alcohol or even some kind of tea before consumption.

[@darthplagueis13]

Well, they're basically just the most self-evident method of preserving carbs for a long period of time without them getting moldy. So I wouldn't say the prevalence of hard tack is too surprising. If a culture has bread, they'll probably eventually figure out that you can make a very dense bread and just bake all of the moisture out of it for it to stay good for long.

[@Fayanora]

You're supposed to soak it in water before eating it. Usually it gets added to soups.

[@Zelmel]

@@Fayanora Or grind it/crush it to use as basically flour for either soup/stew as a thickener or mixed with liquid to make a basic cake/bread.

[@susanfanning9480]

In many cultures, "hard tack" made the world-go-round. Hard tack kept things going in challenging times. I truly appreciate this video on the subject. Still eat hard tack in Alaska.

[@odin3489]

I'd love to see him make and try some native icecream. haha

[@ashkitt7719]

@@odin3489 Good luck for him doing that where he is. Must be hot.

[@ExileOfSand]

What I find the most fascinating is how on track their thinking was in terms of survival.

[@ralphralpherson9441]

I have more confidence in Max's ability to keep this channel interesting for 3 years than I do in KZbin Corporate keeping KZbin a relevant platform that long... I hope BOTH exist in 3 years, but if it had to be one or the other, my vote is for Max.

[@thatwastakenagain]

i almost wish this video was 3 years old and he makes a mr beast style video of the food

[@Kamamura2]

Only 2 years to go now...

[@christopherleatherwood1670]

1 year later and we are still here

[@telebubba5527]

I soooo completely get you!

[@LisaJedi]

Do be careful with the lotus seeds! Not everyone can digest them & I can personally attest to the gastric pain that results when they disagree with you.

[@meg2831]

That is good to know because I actually have a lot of trouble with some stuff. Thanks for the heads up!

[@Elfinmask]

Anyone noticed the Greninja on the bamboo steamer in the background? It's a frog ninja pokemon.

[@insilencea4599]

Modern people: "I want to be a deadly ninja, they're the coolest!" Ninja: "So here's how to interpret someone's tongue..."

[@23Lgirl]

Ninjas are mostly a myth .

[@Pharaoh_Tutankhamen]

@@23Lgirl So is da Sun

[@wendynordstrom3487]

That was yet another interesting and informative video. Thanks Max! Looking forward to the 3 year video.

[@Graemyr]

Max, I think this channel will be around for a long time. In fact, I promise I'll make your Kikatsugan recipe when it's released, and comment again 6 years from now when they're ready to eat!

[@karenc4544]

Lime jello salad with milk and mandarin orange segments inside (my grandfather called it moldy salad), tamale pie, ham dillys (deli ham slices with cream cheese and a dill pickle spear rolled in it, deviled eggs, iceberg lettuce and tomato “salad”, horrors involving macaroni… This brought flashbacks to the thanksgivings and Xmas’ at my great aunt’s house. I do sometimes miss the pickled peaches though.

[@knittymama570]

I'm totally down to watch you for 3 years while you find new reasons to Hard-Tack-Clip us until your sake recipe is ready. It never gets old. *tac-tac 🤣 Love your content.

[@MrYfrank14]

But I feel sorry for the new viewers trying to figure out what the clip was all about.

[@skyllalafey]

Always love the little tidbits in the captions, like today's [itadakimasu]. Thanks Max and Jose, for all the smiles you bring!

[@ZOCCOK]

The reason why heads are mentioned maybe because of the fact that heads of a slain enemy or target are proofs of the kill and therefore could be used to turn to claim bounties or for rewards. Therefore, decapitated heads had such importance.

[@benjamindover2601]

My dad "You can't eat carbs and be healthy" The Japanese "How about Rice AND sugar mixed together."

[@nunyabiznes33]

Carbs on carbs ftw!

[@alexroseman2223]

Can confirm rice and sugar mixed together rules. Eat it all the time.

[@mwater_moon2865]

Sailors and even royals in Japan also had a very bad habit of dying from beriberi, or Kakke as it's known in Japan, a form of thiamine (Vit B1) deficiency, due to eating only white and not brown rice. So "healthy" is relative.

[@benjamindover2601]

@@mwater_moon2865 Yup, avoid any one food group for long enough and you'll have problems.

[@yfelwulf]

Ninja Balls what you get when the Katana misses its sheath.

[@TastingHistory]

😂

[@Marastife]

If you do a ramen episode, it'll have to be a series. None can cover ramen in one episode, even with an hour long documentary. It varies so much from region to region, and that's saying alot considering it's a staple throughout ALL of Asia. That's china, Japan, Korea, Vietnam ect. They all have variations.

[@RabbitEarsCh]

Really amazed to see Vite Ramen doing video sponsors now. I've been eating their ramen since their launch and they've been fantastic. Super filling and nutritious. Highly recommended. I'm not getting paid to write this, I just think it's neat.

[@W-C-F-o1k]

2 more years! I'm pumped 😊

[@asvpreis]

Thank you for this video, which introduced my local coffee guy to your channel in the most "WTF way". This is how it went: I watched this video right before going to sleep (well too late, well after midnight...). Had to get up early in the morning, but I overslept because of the late bedtime. Run out of the house intending to grab a coffee and a breakfast approximation at a local drive-by coffee place. Got there, the guy asks me what I want with my coffee and my good sleep-deprived self cheerily responded with: "Ninja balls". I didn't cope on the befuddled expression on his face until 20km and a cup of coffee later. I felt sorry for the guy, so on the way back I drove by the coffee place again and explained where the Ninja balls came from. Anyhow... a) apparently I shouldn't leave a house before the first coffee, and b) I refuse to call protein bites anything other than 'Ninja balls'.

[@slwrabbits]

This is the best story. Incidentally, I got banned from operating the coffee machine before having any coffee, because I flooded the kitchen counter with it. I feel you.

[@asvpreis]

@@slwrabbits Been there, done that! 😅

[@GabrielAmorim-bw5dh]

I love you, Jose and your content, waiting three years is a piece of cake

[@ragnkja]

The “ninja costume” is actually the outfit of a stagehand.

[@TastingHistory]

Yes!

[@photinodecay]

You're not supposed to see a stagehand doing their work, so you could say a stagehand is a low-level ninja!

[@ragnkja]

@@photinodecay That’s exactly why they chose to conceal the ninja in the play like that: a stagehand is dressed in dark, featureless clothes to make them less noticeable, and the audience know they’re just there to facilitate the performance rather than take part in the story, so they ignore them.

[@lt.branwulfram4794]

REAL NINJA WEAR BLUE! - Goomba

[@zeekeno823]

was this goomba a gaijin by chance?

[@Valto4life]

I find it pretty interesting they chose a ball of what is essentially just sugar instead of something similar to pemmican, I was sure it would be a form of pemmican when I saw the thumbnail for the video.

[@Blue-pb7kz]

I wonder if the difference related to short term vs long term energy? Simple carbs vs fat+protein?

[@lightskitty]

@@Blue-pb7kz It would be, yes. You want to avoid hard to digest food if you're doing intense cardio. Interesting stuff

[@andrewsuryali8540]

During the entirety of the ninjas' active service in the Warring States era, Japan was almost entirely vegetarian thanks to the adoption of Buddhism as the state religion by the Nara court in the 8th century. Meat was eaten only as a kind of medicine. The idea of making meat-based emergency rations would have been alien to them. Only the Emishi and later Ainu "barbarians" ate meat on a regular basis. The habit of eating meat had to be reintroduced by the Meiji era imperial government in the 19th century.

[@mindstalk]

@@andrewsuryali8540 I think they ate fish too, but fish pemmican sounds unlikely to me.

[@namedrop721]

Licorice is an appetite suppressor and increases your blood pressure. Would be curious what they combined it with. I’ve eaten toasted buckwheat ; much protein and minerals

[@TheQue5tion]

I remember watching an episode of Binging With Babish in which he made Okonomiyaki. He found that when Japanese yams are grated, they turn into an ectoplasmic goo. So I'm curious if the same thing would have happened if you had crushed/ground up Japanese yams and how that would have impacted the flavour and consistency.

[@cornsoup1393]

That’s a specific type of yam called nagaimo, different from the more starchy potato like yam that also exists in Japan (satsumaimo i think in this video). Would be interesting to see if there’s room for interpretation in the original text on what type of yam it calls for (especially given the yam/sweet potato confusion in American English). But you’re definitely right that nagaimo Japanese yam would have a wildly different effect lol-great thought.

[@csoto01]

Dear Max: new episodes of Tasting History are a highlight of my week. Thank you for your excellent content, and congratulations on the new home/kitchen. Best wishes!

[@tarahdactyl]

The “cut off the nose before you return to fighting” was because the samurai weren’t necessarily always that honorable, and would often steal the heads of other people’s kills so that they could claim the reward. By cutting off and carrying around the head’s nose, they were essentially carrying a VERY gruesome puzzle piece that could be matched to the head in case the ownership of said head came into question

[@cjsrescues]

I'd love to see a whole series on Ninja food

[@jassidoe]

When I went to a samurai exhibition, there was a rather graphic video shown how samurai collected heads and how they attached them to the horses. Because those were the proof that you killed them (well...there was a lot of foul play) and you were rewarded accordingly. At some point the heads became too unwieldy so they collected the upper lip instead (for the low profile kills, I guess). The upper lip because it had to have a mustache, because some people killed women and children to earn more money .... yeaaaahh....but it was really interesting :D

[@lightawake]

We used to eat katayaki sometimes when we were younger. They are hard but have a gentle sweetness, which makes them quite nice to crunch on. Similar to the sweetness of a plain biscotti, with the texture being much much finer and drier.

[@ringlhach]

You might be interested in Gaijin Goombah's "Which Ninja?" series. He spends a lot of time talking about what makes a "good" historical ninja, and food pops up a LOT.

[@Cyclonus5]

I see his declaration about Kikatsugan and I expect "this is like a 4 year old video, it has to be out by now." And then I see it's only 4 months old. Never have I been this invested and this early.

[@ms_cartographer]

In the show, Inuyasha in the English translation, the junk food that Kagome brings- like ramen and chips- are called "ninja food".

[@Beedo_Sookcool]

Great video! Thank you! The kikatsugan puts me in mind of Terry Pratchett's dwarf bread -- you can go for a long time with just some dwarf bread in your pouch, because if that's all you've got to eat, you really don't find yourself WANTING to eat. 😉

[@sinvector8020]

God I love Discworld so much. GNU Terry Pratchett.

[@darrianweathington1923]

The mighty hardtack. Even the legendary ninja cannot defeat such a foe

[@mikeyg3153]

Came for the turtles, staying for them guns (and history)💪 .. great episode as usual!

[@TastingHistory]

Thank you 😊

[@JohnLeePettimoreIII]

11:58 that schtick never gets old.

[@larrystrawberry-d2o]

Absolutely killing it king, keep up the great work.

[@TastingHistory]

Thank you 😊

[@doloressims5677]

As a former scout leader - I'm all about some Ninja Scout skills. And dutch oven baking (coals on the lid of the pot) is a long held scout skill 👌

[@bananalore8398]

I see not even feudal Japan is safe from the horrors of the hardtack

[@Raphael_Bizmann]

ALMOST exclusively human? I want to hear about the non-human and non-turtle ninjas next episode.

[@Nagol93]

I mean there was that one rat ninja

[@Burning_Dwarf]

@@Nagol93 the disrespect, master splinter is not just that one rat

[@Nagol93]

@@Burning_Dwarf Oh ya, forgot about him. Guess there's at least two ninja rats.

[@ChrissieBear]

14:00 In samurai warfare presenting heads was a way to mark your kills and earn credit for them. I have heard of a similar notion in a samurai book where samurai would steal heads from each other on a battle field as a way to steal credit for the kill.

[@ChristopherDimitriousPhanara]

Greetings Sir Max! So good to see you again. As well another great episode. Cheers Mate!😘

[@TastingHistory]

Thank you, Christopher 😁

[@anska7475]

I wasn‘t expecting a recipe for giant cinnamon flavored caramel candy, when reading the title. 🙂 Thank you for yet another great and interesting video.

[@landonsmith2154]

Makes me want to re-read a book I have on Ninjas, they had a recipe for stuff like this, and covered so much that I find very useful today!

[@Joshsmith4364]

Greninja be chilling!

[@Drake844221]

This is actually the second time recently that I've come across lotus seeds. The first time was in a video from SortedFood, where they talked about food from other countries, which isn't as common in England. As a result, I learned about Tiger Nuts or puffed lotus seeds. I even found some on Amazon, and they were actually quite a hit at my house (since my wife and daughter's corn allergy makes popcorn... not really a viable option for them).

[@lipstickzombie4981]

So it's ancient energy balls?

[@TastingHistory]

Exactly

[@lipstickzombie4981]

@@TastingHistory Well that's the only thing a ninja can do that I can do as well.

[@benmoi3390]

when I saw the amount of sugar and the ginseng I thought exactly about energy drink... but in that case energy balls.

[@FishareFriendsNotFood972]

7:31 that image just turned this into "Tasting History: After Dark"........

[@maladypond]

"These balls are immensely crushable." Well, I wasn't expecting that. But . . . Everyone expects the hardtack interjection! Another awesome recipe and history lesson! And now I want a yagen.

[@lukebull5343]

One more year and we there!!!!

[@kathrynmast916]

My week just became wonderful because Max came for a visit!🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@TastingHistory]

Glad to be of service 😁

[@simbriant]

The next logical step is for Max to acquire his own ninja-themed history cooking anime series. 😃

[@peterceccardi3058]

I'd watch it

[@adamengelhart5159]

They greenlighted kzbin.info/aero/PLrrh84y760v8QyC5bDENLId-PNqNDpOgG; I'm sure the market is there. :-D

[@elevatormusicirelia9043]

Check out Yakitate Japan

[@adamengelhart5159]

@@elevatormusicirelia9043 click that link I posted

[@graefx]

Japanese mountain yam has a particular sticky gooeyness to them that probably helps in texture or binding. I guess these are what inspired the pills Choji uses in Naruto. I always assumed they were candy like truffles which isn't too far off really