Fu Manju: Anko-Stuffed Wheat Gluten Cake from Kyoto

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.

Manju

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)

Fu Manju

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 Stuffed with Anko Sweet Red Bean Paste

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.

Fu Manju in Bamboo Leaf

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

Ingredients 

Fu Manju Ingredients

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

Where to Buy

Fu Manju Wheat Gluten Cake

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.

(Reference Page: Wikipedia 麩饅頭 )

Tomo

Hi, I'm Tomo, a Japanese blogger living in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. For the purpose of enriching your life, I would like to introduce things about Japan on this blog, especially unique Japanese products, cooking recipes, cultures, and facts and trivia.

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