There are many varieties of manjū, but most have an outside made from flour, rice powder and buckwheat and a filling of an (red bean paste), made from boiled azuki beans and sugar. They are boiled together again and kneaded. There are several varieties of bean paste used including koshian, tsubuan, and tsubushian.
Manjū was derived from a type of mochi (蒸餅), or pounded rice cake, that has existed in China for a long time.[when?] It was originally called Mantou in Chinese, but became known as manjū when it came to Japan. In 1341, a Japanese envoy that came back from China brought back manjū with him and started to sell it as Nara-manjū. It is said that this was the origin of Japanese manjū. Since then, it has been eaten for nearly 700 years by Japanese people. Now it can be found in many Japanese sweet shops. Its low price is a reason that it is popular.
There are myriad varieties of manjū, some more common than others.
- Matcha (green tea) manjū is one of the most common. In this case, the outside of the manjū has a green tea flavor and is colored green.
- Mizu (water) manjū is traditionally eaten in the summertime and contains a flavored bean filling. The exterior of the mizu manjū is made with kuzu starch, which gives the dough a translucent, jelly-like appearance.[1]
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