The Manjū (饅頭) is a traditional Japanese sweet consisting of a soft and sweet flour-based pastry shell that encloses a filling, usually made of azuki bean paste (anko), preferably koshian (smooth), but also white bean paste (shiro-an), black sesame paste (kuro goma an), sweet potatoes, or chestnut cream.
The standard manjū has a flour dough, but some variations use kudzu starch or buckwheat flour.
This sweet is often served during tea ceremonies or as an afternoon snack.
Usually steamed or baked, in some modern restaurants it can also be found fried.
Traditional manjū are usually round, but today there are various shapes, some of which are exclusive to certain bakeries.
It is believed that the monk Enni introduced the manjū production techniques to Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, in 1241. However, the manjū brought to Japan by monks was prepared in a completely different way.
At that time, the manjū resembled the Chinese mantou, which is written with the same kanji. It was not a sweet, and did not contain red bean paste.
The Shokunin utaai ehon (職人歌合画本) described the sweet manjū made with sugar. This manjū is considered the prototype of today’s version.
My version is dark with kokuto (Okinawa brown sugar derived from sugarcane juice) with black sesame filling (黒ごまあん, kuro goma an), but if you want to use anko filling, you can find the recipe on the blog:
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Economical
- Preparation time: 5 Minutes
- Portions: 6 Pieces
- Cooking methods: Steaming
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 1/2 tbsp warm water
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 cup black sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 pinch salt
Tools
- 1 Steamer
Steps
In a saucepan, dissolve the brown sugar with the water over low heat, stirring until you get a homogeneous syrup.
In a bowl, sift the flour and baking powder.
Add the syrup to the flour and mix until you get a soft and slightly sticky dough.
Toast the seeds in a pan over low heat for 1–2 minutes until they release their aroma. Be careful not to burn them.Transfer the toasted seeds to a coffee grinder, mortar, or mixer and grind finely until you get an oily and fine paste.
Add the sugar and a pinch of salt, and continue mixing or blending.
Add a little water only if needed to reach a moldable consistency.
Divide the dough into 6 equal portions.
With lightly floured hands, flatten each portion into a disk.
Place a ball of filling in the center of each disk and close the dough around the filling, sealing the edges well.
Form smooth and compact balls.
Prepare a steamer lined with parchment paper or bamboo leaves.
Place the manjū in the steamer, leaving space between them to prevent sticking during cooking.
Steam for about 10–12 minutes over medium-high heat.
Once cooked, let them cool slightly before serving.
In the video, the version with steaming using the Magic Cooker lid.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What are the different varieties of manjū?
Among the countless varieties of manjū, you can find:
• Okinawa manjū prepared with a purple sweet potato filling, butter, milk, sugar, and salt.
• With matcha is one of the most common. In this case, the outer part of the manjū has a green tea flavor and is green in color.
• The mizu manjū (water) is traditionally consumed in the summer and contains a flavored bean filling. The exterior is made with kuzu, which gives the dough a translucent and jelly-like appearance.
• The horaku manjū is a sweet dough filled with red bean paste made from azuki beans or white bean paste made from red cannellini beans and is one of the most popular types of manjū in Kyushu, especially in the prefectures of Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, and Miyazaki.
This type of manjū, or a very similar one, is also sold at a street stall on Jotenji-dori in Fukuoka, a few meters from the manjū monument in Joten-ji Temple, commemorating the importation of manjū from China by Monk Enni.
Moreover, manjū can have flavored fillings, such as orange cream.
As is the case with many Japanese dishes, in some parts of Japan, you can find region-specific manjū like the momiji manjū shaped like a maple leaf from Hiroshima and Miyajima.
