Fu Manju: Anko-Stuffed Wheat Gluten Cake from Kyoto

by Tomo · Published December 13, 2019 · Updated January 11, 2022

“Manju (饅頭)” is a traditional Japanese confection or wagashi. It is a steamed bun filled with sweet Azuki red bean paste called “Anko (餡子)”.

Manju comes in many varieties, and the dough can be made with various ingredients.

But the main ingredient is mostly wheat flour, to which ingredients, such as brown sugar and baking soda, are added.

Incidentally, what I have now, “Fu Manju (麩饅頭)” from Kyoto, doesn’t use wheat flour.

Fu Manju (麩饅頭)

As you may already know, “Fu (麩)” is a traditional Japanese food made from wheat gluten.

It comes in various forms, including “Yaki-Fu (焼き麩: baked wheat gluten bread)” and “Nama-Fu (生麩: steamed wheat gluten cake)”.

Fu Manju is made with Nama-Fu. But as with regular Manju, the cake is stuffed with sweet red bean paste or Anko.

The dough is fresh with a distinctive chewy texture.

The cake tends to be wrapped in a bamboo leaf, which imparts a pleasant scent.

According to the ingredient list, the dough of this Fu Manju consists of wheat gluten, Yomogi mugwort, and glutinous rice powder.

Fu Manju is a local confection seen in Kyoto, Aichi, Ishikawa, Osaka, and Wakayama Prefectures.

In Kyoto, the Nama-Fu specialty shop “Fuka (麩嘉)” (Google Map) is especially famous for its Fu Manju.