Happy New Year everyone!!!
Furikake Chex Mix is a Hawaiian snack that is a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, and oh SOOOOO addictive. I kid you not. I've eaten half a batch in one sitting! Oops... should I have admitted that?
You can easily buy this ready-made unique twist to the traditional Chex Party Mix snack at CVS/Longs, and even Safeway in Hawaii, but here on the "mainland US", you'll probably need to go to a specialty shop to find this treat. So why not just make it yourself at home?
It's super easy, and most likely, you have all the ingredients in your pantry-- except maybe the furikake. Furikake is a Japanese sweet, savory, nutty, seaweed-based dry seasoning used to top rice, and can be found in your local Asian grocery store (see pictures of bottle below). I try to buy the ones that say "Product of Japan" because those don't have MSG. But if you can't find that, that's OK. Just make sure you look at the ingredients and get the furikake variety that is seaweed and sesame (Nori [seaweed] and goma [sesame] in Japanese). There are varieties that contain salmon, shiso, wasabi or bonito fish flakes. DON'T use that kind.
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| Furikake |
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| Furikake |
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| Make "syrup" sauce in pot |
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| Pour over Chex cereal. Mix well. Add furikake. |
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| Spread out onto a large baking tray |
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| Bake at 250F for 1 hour mixing every 15 minutes |
Note: Don't be tempted to make a double batch in the same tray. I did once and it was disastrous, as the extra volume made for inefficient mixing during the hour baking, leading to all the syrup sinking to the bottom and burning the bottom layer of chex mix.
(We got invited to a New Year's Party where sake will be served, so I thought this sweet and salty snack would be a great accompaniment!)
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from my friend Karen Kimura's Crispix Senbei recipe published in the 40th Anniversary NSC cookbook
Yields 6 snack servings
Ingredients:
- 12 oz Box plain Chex cereal
- 1 stick (½ c) unsalted butter
- ¼ c neutral oil such as corn or vegetable oil
- 1 T soy sauce
- ½ c white sugar
- ¼ c brown sugar
- 1 T honey
- 1/4 jar of furikake-norigoma (Roasted sesame and seaweed Japanese rice topping, see photo above)
Procedures:
1. In a pot, cook butter, oil, soy sauce, white and brown sugars, and honey. Stir until butter is all melted and all the sugars have dissolved.
2. Using a large bowl, pour syrup over the Chex cereal. Mix together well. When the syrup has coated all the chex cereal, sprinkle furikake and mix. (Best to use a deep large bowl for this so that the syrup coats the chex cereal. Use of a shallow bowl or done directly in the baking tray leads to most of the syrup sticking to the bottom of the bowl/or tray instead of the cereal.)
3. Pour out onto a large baking tray and spread out into a thin layer. Bake at 250F for 1 hour, mixing every 15 min. When done, keep mixing every few minutes until cool.
4. Store in an air tight container or zip lock bag. Will keep at room temperature for up to 4 days.