Ever since I saw Snom when Sword and Shield came out, I was a fan. They are these cute little worm-caterpillar-larvae bugs-things with a layer of ice spikes around their bodies. And they are hilariously adorable, namely because of their super simplistic design! For those unfamiliar with what wagashi are, it is an umbrella term for Japanese confections. They can stem from the more familiar mochi, purin, and dango to the less familiar zenzai or yokan. But in any case, the wagashi we are making here is nerikiri. Nerikiri is basically a hybrid of sweet bean paste(usually white beans) and mochi. The two mixtures are combined together to form an easily shapeable dough. What I love about nerikiri is that because of how shapeable it is, so you can really use it to make all kinds of cute wagashi from – I’ve seen flowers, beachballs, cacti, little birdies, and even little rabbits made with nerikiri before! For those who want to make this recipe, purchasing shiroan or white bean paste is basically a must. You can make it from scratch with presoaked lima beans, but I just usually purchase it off of Amazon. I found that the Amazon one that I bought tends to be on the wetter side, so for for this recipe, I recommend cooking it down a little just to remove some of that moisture, which in turn, reduces the stickiness of your nerikiri dough! The less sticky the dough, the easier it is to work with in terms of portioning and shaping!

For this recipe, I am using that nerikiri to make Snom’s body out of. I am filling it with a mixture of Yuzu Inspiration and shiroan(sweet white bean paste), just to add another dimension in terms of flavor and texture! For Snom’s ice spikes, I will admit I had a lot of fun with this portion. I started by making a gelee that was also infused with yuzu, set with agar, and colored with blue spirulina powder. I also used a touch of blue spirulina to tint the nerikiri as well, since I found the nerikiri dough on its own was on the yellow-white side, whereas Snom’s body is more blue-white. But back to the spikes, I set the gelee in box-shapes, then trims the edges of the boxes to accumulate spikes. With the scraps of gelee, I re-melted them in the microwave, and glazed half of the Snom’s bodies with it, just so that the glaze would act like a “glue” for the spikes – fun fact, it worked hilariously well to the point that I was pleasantly surprised! I used yuzu for this recipe specifically because it is a winter citrus, and Snom is obviously a winter Pokemon based off the fact that it is an Ice-type, so it just

For the filling:
50g shiro-an
a pinch of salt
20g Yuzu Inspiration

In a pot over medium heat, stir everything together until cooked down into a thick paste. Transfer into an airtight container and refrigerate until cold to the touch. Divide into three balls.

For the Nerikiri dough:
50g shiro-an
15g shiratamako rice flour(you can also use mochiko as well)
20g water
5g granulated sugar
a pinch of blue spirulina powder
cornstarch or potato starch

Heat up the shiro-an on low heat while constantly stirring until the mixture has reduced down by about 10%. In a microwave, cook the rice flour with water and sugar for 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Mix that mixture into the shiro-an and blue spirulina powder, kneading them together into a smooth dough, and allow it to cool down. Dust a surface with a thin layer of cornstarch and turn out your dough onto it. Divide the dough into three pieces and wrap around the filling. Shape out the Nerikiti to resemble a Snom.

For the gelee:
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp yuzu juice
2 tbsp agar agar
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp blue spirulina powder

In a pot over low heat, bring everything to a simmer besides the spirulina. Once the agar is dissolved into the water, take the pot off heat and stir in the spirulina powder. Pour into a shallow container and refrigerate until firm, about 10 minutes. Cut into small triangular shapes and keep those refrigerated. Take any scraps and melt them in the microwave for 1 minute. Pour the melted gelee over half of Snom’s body, then press the triangular pieces onto the glaze on Snom’s body to set them in place.

To garnish:
1 tsp activated charcoal powder
1 tsp water

Mix together to form a “paint”. Using the end of a chopstick, press in the “eyes” for your Snom.