Kintsuba (きんつば) is a Japanese sweet made with azuki bean paste, known as anko tsuban, wrapped in a rice flour batter.
It was invented in Kyoto during the mid-Edo period.
Due to its silver color, the confectionery was originally called “Gintsuba” (gin = silver).
However, for commercial reasons, it was renamed “Kintsuba” (Kin = gold) because they expected higher sales numbers.
“Tsuba” in kintsuba refers to the guard of the Japanese sword which, during the Edo period, was round in shape, unlike the rectangular shape of today’s; the name of kintsuba refers to the usually round or square shape.
In the Toide-machi area of Takaoka city, Toyama prefecture, Kintsuba is still round in shape with the sword guard design stamped on the top even today, while in the Iwase district of Toyama prefecture, they are triangular in shape.
To make kintsuba, cover the solidified tsubuan (azuki bean paste containing pieces of azuki bean skin) with agar agar, with the batter made of flour and water spread into a thin sheet, and cook the dough on all sides in a lightly oiled flat pan.
Besides azuki beans, there are kintsuba made with sweet potatoes, chestnuts, and green tea etc.
The one made with sweet potatoes is called ‘Satsuma Kintsuba’.
Or ‘Imo Kintsuba’ when it is filled with sweet potato paste, spreading the batter on each side of a square piece of sweet potato yokan and baking it.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Rest time: 5 Minutes
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 3 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling, Stovetop
- Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients
- 5 oz Water
- 6.3 oz Anko
- 0.05 oz agar agar
- 0.18 oz Glutinous rice flour (Shiratamako)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 0.88 oz rice flour
- as needed vegetable oil
Steps
Mix the agar agar with 3.5 oz of water and bring to a boil, add the anko and cook for about two minutes, then pour into a square mold, let it solidify and cut into squares.
For the batter: mix the glutinous rice flour with the sugar, water (1.7 oz), and flour, and spread the batter on each square, cooking on all sides in a lightly greased pan.
I used the anko I bought during my trip to Okinawa, but if you want to make it you can follow the recipe already available on the blog.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
Who makes round kintsuba?
Originally it was a sweet invented in Kyoto consisting of bean paste stuffed into a dough made of joshinko (rice flour) and cooked in the same way.
The only company that has been making round tsuba since the Edo period is Eitaro Sohonpo in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.
The main shop of the restaurant has been operating in the same location since the Edo period, when the area was called Nishigashi-cho. “Kaku kintsuba” was invented in the Meiji era by Taikichi Sugita, the founder of Benikado on Motomachi Street in Kobe.
