Japanese Food Tips

Last time, I described manju which is composed of bun and anko (sweetened bean paste), and where the typical bun color is white. There are also colored buns, or those with a combination of the typical white bun and red bun. Red and white manju are celebration gifts for entrance and graduation ceremonies, wedding sweets and so on, because red and white are good luck colors in Japan. Brown buns using brown sugar are also popular, and they are called Oshima manju, Rikyu manju or Onsen (hot spring) manju. Oshima is named after Amami Oshima, which is a famous producer of brown sugar. Rikyu manju is named after Sen no Rikyu, the most famous historical tea master who liked it very much. Onsen are hot spring areas all over Japan where Onsen manju are often sold at souvenir shops. Green buns are named after yomogi (wormwood), which is kneaded into the bun. The yomogi manju has a scent of wormwood and a slight bitterness, which goes well with the sweetness of anko. If you have the opportunity to eat these manju, please give them a try.