Funayaki (Thin Wheat Crepes with Brown Sugar)

Quick answer

Total time: 30 min
Level: Easy
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients: 6

About this dish

Funayaki is a wheat snack from the Chikugo area of Fukuoka.

A thin batter of flour, water, and egg is cooked in a round, then lined with brown sugar and rolled while still warm. It developed as an easy use of wheat grown around the Chikugo River plain. One explanation for the name links funa, meaning boat, to the curved iron pan and the boat-like shape of a folded cake. Gentle heat gives both sides a pale golden color without making the sheet brittle. The small line of brown sugar softens in the residual heat, so each of the four crepes is best rolled immediately and eaten warm.

Ingredients (4 servings)

Ingredient	Amount	Unit
wheat flour	120	g
beaten egg	0.5	piece
water	125	ml
salt	1	g
cooking oil	1	tbsp
finely crushed brown sugar	10	g

Instructions

Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.

6 steps

1

Season

Sift 120g wheat flour once to remove lumps.

Crush all 10g brown sugar finely if it is in hard chunks and divide it into four equal portions.
2

Season

Whisk 0.5 beaten egg with 125ml water and 1g salt until the salt dissolves.

Add the sifted flour and whisk only until no dry flour remains, making a pourable batter.
3

Control

Preheat a 20cm skillet over medium-low heat for 2 minutes and brush it thinly with 1 tsp of the 1 tbsp oil.

Pour in one quarter of the batter and rotate the pan to form a thin round about 16cm wide.
4

Heat

When the wet surface disappears and the edge lifts, flip the crepe.

Cook the second side for 1 to 2 minutes, until both sides are pale golden and the egg batter reaches at least 72°C at the center.
5

Season

Place the crepe on a board and arrange one quarter of the brown sugar in a narrow line about one third of the way from the near edge. While hot, roll from the near side without squeezing and rest seam-side down.
6

Finish

Cook the remaining batter into three more crepes, brushing on the remaining oil very thinly whenever the pan looks dry.

Divide the sugar, roll each one, rest for 2 minutes so it softens, and serve warm.

Practical Cooking Checks

The cues that matter most while cooking.

Key technique: Thin, simple batter based on wheat flour and water
Finish cue: Cook the second side for 1 to 2 minutes, until both sides are pale golden and the egg batter reaches at least 72°C at the center.
Avoid this: Stop mixing as soon as dry flour disappears because overmixing makes the crepes tough, and keep the pan close to low heat.