Tojiko-mame Soybean Wheat Sweet

Name: Tojiko-mame Soybean Wheat Sweet
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 70 min
Yield: 30 servings
Cuisine: Japanese
Ingredients: dried soybeans 400 g; all-purpose flour 1000 g; soft brown sugar 400 g; dark brown sugar 400 g; salt 18 g; water 900 ml; neutral oil 48 g

Quick answer

Active time: 115 min
Waiting: See the steps
Level: Hard
Servings: 30 servings
Ingredients: 7

About this dish

Toasted soybeans are packed tightly into wheat dough sweetened with brown sugar and sanontou, then steamed in log form.

The name refers to beans shut inside the dough, and it also goes by tochiko-mame or toshiko-mame. Around Yamaga and Kikuchi in northern Kumamoto it was made at year's end alongside osechi, and it appeared at weddings, funerals, and as a gift or farm-season snack. Chilled until firm and sliced, it shows beans crowded through the brown dough.

Ingredients

servings

IngredientAmount

As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases.

Instructions

7 steps

1

Toast 400g dried soybeans in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 15 minutes, shaking constantly until evenly browned and fragrant without burning or smoking.
2

Dip the toasted soybeans in boiling water for 30 seconds, drain, and rest 10 minutes.

This blanching water is separate from the measured 900ml dough water and is discarded.
3

Combine 1kg flour, 400g soft brown sugar, 400g dark brown sugar, and 18g salt.

Whisk in 900ml water in four additions until no dry flour or sugar lumps remain, then fold in the soybeans.
4

Heat a heavy pan over medium-low and coat with 16g of the 48g oil.

Knead one third of the dough with a wooden spatula for 12 minutes, scraping the bottom, until cloudy flour color turns translucent. Remove and repeat twice with 16g oil each.
5

While warm, combine the three dough batches and, with damp hands, form 6 logs each 5cm wide and 20cm long.

Wrap tightly in soaked bamboo leaves or food-safe steaming paper and tie both ends.
6

Arrange logs in one layer in a fully steaming steamer, cover, and steam vigorously for 40 minutes.

Confirm the center of the thickest log is at least 95°C and has no raw flour color.
7

Cool wrapped logs on a rack for 2 hours, then chill until firm.

Slice into 30 pieces 1cm thick with a clean knife. Refrigerate at 4°C or colder for up to 3 days or freeze individual slices.