Have you ever walked past a Japanese bakery only to be breathless at the precision and craftsmanship that goes into these tiny, perfect treats? Well, thankfully, not all Japanese desserts require such skills. Today we show how to make a simple yet delicious Japanese confection called Manjū (Manjuu; Manju). We make them with matcha powder and turn them into an energizing treat.
Manju is a steamed, fluffy bun filled with sweet red bean paste. It looks like a medium-sized pebble: flat at the bottom and round at the top. Not all manju buns are created equal. Some people make them with rice flour, others with wheat or buckwheat flour. Some recipes use eggs, some don’t. What traditional recipes have in common is anko a paste of red beans and sugar.
As always, we thought of making the recipe healthier and more diet-friendly. This is how our Manju will be without egg, veganAnd made without refined sugar. If you want to make them gluten-free, you can borrow the batter from our gluten-free cannoli bowl recipe and substitute matcha for the cocoa powder.
To make sugar-free matcha manju, we make the red bean paste ourselves. We use date paste instead of white sugar. You can do it with the traditional one adzuki beans or the more common red kidney beans. In the instructions below, we’ll explain how to make it with both raw and canned beans. Using canned beans is faster.
Dates are naturally sweet and have a medium-low glycemic index and glycemic load. Since we didn’t use too many dates, even people with diabetes can enjoy a handful of these manju buns a day without worrying[1]. Therefore, these Manju are perfect for people on a diet.
Overall, the mix of proteins and matcha and the absence of refined sugar make our Manju a healthy and energizing snack.
A single bun is packed with the restorative properties of green tea, has no fat and only 6% RDI sugar.
Besides, this could be your foray into the beautiful world of Japanese patisserie. For example, next you could try these Mochi Flour Cookies with Matcha Filling!
Have fun replicating our recipe below and enjoy our sugar-free manju buns.
frequently asked Questions
What kind of fillings can you use in Manju?
The traditional manju filling is a red bean paste, also known as adzuki bean paste or anko in Japan. There are of course other jams and pastes that you can use to fill your manju. The most popular include:
You can also use any jam of your choice, e.g. B. Strawberry! Matcha and strawberry go very well together. Here are some of our sugar-free jam recipes that you can use as fillings for these manju buns:
How to make manju sugar free?
Making sugar-free manju is easy. All you have to do is make or use a sugar-free filling.
In the recipe above, we made our anko paste with dates instead of sugar. By using dates, the total amount of sugar in the recipe was reduced by over 30%. Additionally, the sugar in dates is much safer than that found in pure white sugar because dates are high in fiber. As you’ve probably heard us say before, fiber helps prevent blood sugar levels from rising by slowing down digestion.
If you want to use other fillings, be sure to choose sugar-free ones. In the Frequently Asked Questions section above, we’ve compiled a list of some of our delicious sugar-free jams for you. Look at her!
How can I prepare Manju without a steamer?
Don’t have a steamer? Don’t let that stop you! In our vegan Momos recipe, we explain how to make a DIY steamer using common kitchen utensils.
How to do it:
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Place a cup in a deep saucepan. The calyx must be shorter than the pot.
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Fill the pot with enough water to cover three quarters of the cup.
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Put a plate on the cup. The plate must be smaller than the pot so that the steam can flow unhindered. If you have what looks like a plate with holes, use that instead.
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Get a lid that fits the pot and line it with a towel.
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Bring the water to a boil, place the manju buns on the plate and put the lid on.
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Make sure the towel does not come into contact with flammable objects.
Can I bake Manju?
In most recipes, manju is steamed like a dumpling. But some bake it too. The difference between the two cooking techniques is the final consistency of the confection.
Steamed manju are soft and gooey, while baked manju are more like crunchy cookies with filling.
What is the difference between manju and mochi?
Mochi and Manju look very similar. The main difference is that while manju dumplings can be made with multiple flours (rice, wheat, or buckwheat), mochi can always be made with it mochigomaa short-grain type of sticky rice.