Beika

Beika

Senbei rice crackers
Type	Higashi
Place of origin	Japan
Main ingredients	Rice (or wheat flour or barley flour)
Variations	Senbei, arare, kaki no tane, okaki
Media: Beika

In Japanese, beika (米菓) describes a higashi (dry Japanese confectionery) that is made out of rice. Beika is a word used for any dry snack made of rice. Unlike “senbei,” which is more specifically rice crackers and may also include other flours, beika can be more than just crackers.¹ Major types include:

• senbei
• okaki
• arare
• kaki no tane

Some types of senbei may use wheat flour or barley flour instead of rice flour, for example tansan senbei, nanbu senbei and kawara senbei.