10 Types of Frozen Japanese Desserts

Japan has a fascinating culinary culture, most of which revolves around sushi. However, beyond the world of maki, there is a lot of the Japanese food scene that remains unexplored. One of these categories is the wealth of delicious frozen Japanese desserts, all of which are perfectly refreshing for the summer.

These kinds of desserts have been eaten for centuries in Japan, with nobility enjoying frozen shaved ice, usually carved by hand and sweetened with nectar. Today, there are an array of different frozen varieties available to the people of Japan, all of which are sold everywhere from convenience stores to boutique gelato stalls and even specially designed vending machines.

Here at Oriental Mart, we’ve decided to take a closer look at just ten of our favourite frozen desserts, so you can be a little more adventurous with your pudding choices this summer.

Fruit Popsicles

Known colloquially in Japan as ‘ice candy’, there are various flavours of fruit popsicles to choose from.

From strawberry, watermelon, kiwi and mixed fruit salad, each will bring its own delicious flavouring as well as real-life frozen fruit to enjoy! The perfect way to keep cool and at least somewhat healthy on a warm summer’s day.

Sesame Ice Cream

This unique flavouring can consist of white sesame, white sesame with assorted grains, black sesame, and black sesame salt, while many establishments will also let you choose a strength of the flavours.

One cup of ice cream is typically made from over 9,000 sesame seeds and is a must-try for anyone visiting Japan this year. Ice cream tempura is also a delicious frozen temptation, with a tasty sesame coating around the rich ice cream filling to make a popular dessert at restaurants.

Monaka

A traditional wafer cookie that gets its sweet taste from being served with a red bean paste, Monaka is often the filling of choice in ice cream sandwiches.

The jam-like filling is often flavoured with azuki beans, but chestnuts, sesame seeds and rice cake can also be used here.

Frozen Choco Banana

A popular summertime treat, as the name might suggest this frozen delight consists of a frozen banana on a stick, dipped in chocolate and covered in crystallized sugar, nuts, or sprinkles.

As well as the traditional milk chocolate, white chocolate can also be used to create fun colours for both children and festival-goers alike.

Matcha Green Tea Shake

Utilising the ever-popular matcha green flavouring, this frozen treat contains matcha-flavoured ice cream as well as whipped cream. Once stirred together, the flavours combine to create an easy-to-drink shake with just the right level of sweetness.

Green tea shakes are not just a summertime treat and can be enjoyed at any time throughout the year.

Daifuku

Consisting of a mochi rice dumpling with classic red bean paste in the middle, daifuku is a traditional sweet that is found in many Japanese restaurants.

An extension of this sweet is called yukimi-daifuku, which directly translates as mochi ice cream, and features a bite-size scoop of ice cream that is coated by the mochi rice dumpling. Between the chewy, soft mochi and the dense, creamy ice-cream, you get a delicious frozen dessert that can be enjoyed by all.

Sabou Parfait

A popular dish that exudes Japanese elegance, this parfait features matcha green tea ice cream and rich mascarpone cream with an array of delicious treats within the two, including warabimochi, chestnuts and chocolate pearls. This provides an explosion of textures and tastes, all of which complement one another, and the matcha powder sprinkled atop the surfaces ties the whole meal together.

Kakigori

Shaved ice has long since been eaten in Japan and the snow-like texture is often topped with simple syrups or rich toppings to create a straightforward but delightful dessert.

Toppings can include thick and sweet condensed milk, fresh fruit, shiratama dango, whipped cream and even a scoop or two of ice cream. This is only served during the summertime in Japan and has a distinctive logo to show that it is served in shops and restaurants, compromising the Japanese symbol for ice with blue waves underneath it.

Anmitsu

A sundae-esque afters that is made from chunky red bean paste, cubes of kanten jelly, fresh fruit and shiratama mochi dumplings. The traditional Japanese ingredients provide the perfect taste to suit every preference, whilst ice cream can be added to create kurimu anmitsu.

The Azuki Bar

Azuki beans may seem like the odd choice for a dessert flavouring, but the reddish-brown bean actually tastes nothing like the ones you may be imagining. This staple ingredient has long since had a place in Japanese confectionary and the iced bar is an ideal dessert to-go option that is sold in supermarkets and convenience stores all over the country.

That concludes our guide to just ten of the many Japanese frozen desserts that you can try when the temperatures soar this summer. They will often utilise natural sweet flavourings as opposed to the sugar-filled Western alternatives and are perfect for anyone wanting to try new, delicious tastes.

Would you like to try any Japanese desserts without making the 10,000-mile round trip? Here at Oriental Mart, we have a wide variety of Japanese sweets in the UK and can cater for all your dessert-based needs. Use the comments on our social media channels to let us know which your favourite is!