Okay guys, confession time. I don't like red bean paste and unfortunately, it is in almost EVERY Japanese sweet known to man. And when I ordered the chocolate filled manju (I'll explain later), I felt like such a tourist in Japan. But, I probably already looked like a tourist...
Manju are a Japanese sweet consisting of a cake filled usually with anko, red bean paste. The one shown at left is Momiji manju, or maple shaped manju, that is a specialty of Hiroshima.
Mochi, more commonly known in the US than Manju, are pounded glutinous rice cakes, that are also typically filled with anko, red bean paste. Another type of mochi is warabimochi, which is made from bracken starch and is more jelly like. Dango is a dumpling also made from rice most often found in soups. Lastly, mochi can be grilled and topped with sweet miso as a more savory snack. I literally tried all of these when I was in Japan this past spring. :)
Mochi, more commonly known in the US than Manju, are pounded glutinous rice cakes, that are also typically filled with anko, red bean paste. Another type of mochi is warabimochi, which is made from bracken starch and is more jelly like. Dango is a dumpling also made from rice most often found in soups. Lastly, mochi can be grilled and topped with sweet miso as a more savory snack. I literally tried all of these when I was in Japan this past spring. :)
Green Tea
Green tea was first introduced to Japan in the 700's by China, but didn't become really popular for everyone, and not only royalty, until around 1333. Nowadays, in Japanese restaurants, green tea or other varieties of tea are served instead of water.
Some different types of green tea are...
Some different types of green tea are...
- Ryokucha- the actual tea leaves
- Matcha- powdered green tea, they use matcha in tea ceremonies
- Genmaicha- tea leaves with roasted brown rice
- Mugicha- this is actually roasted barley tea, and has no caffiene
Itadakimasu!