‘Kenbikiyaki’

Name: ‘Kenbikiyaki’
Yield: 4 Pieces
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 80 g Plain Flour *20g per piece; 1 pinch Salt; 100 ml Boiling Water *25ml per piece; 4 heaped-tablespoons Sweet Azuki Paste *Tsubu-an OR Koshi-an; 4 Myōga Leaves *washed and trimmed into the right size if too large; *Note: You can cook ‘Kenbikiyaki’ without Myōga Leaves, just like this ‘Oyaki’; Oil for cooking

Hiroko Liston @hirokoliston

Melbourne, Australia

In Japan, there is a traditional food called ‘Oyaki’. ‘Oyaki’ is a sort of dumpling made with dough wrapped around a stuffing and cooked on a pan. ‘Kenbikiyaki’ is similar to ‘Oyaki’, but it is wrapped in Myōga Leaf and the filling is always Sweet Azuki Paste. It is a traditional food in Okayama region where I grew up, and my mother used to make it quite often. Myōga’s flower buds are popular food in Japan, but leaves can be used in this way.

I wanted to have this recipe on my website. To do that, I had to cook it to take a photo, and I did need Myōga leaves to cook it, but it was impossible to find Myōga where I live. Then I decided to grow Myōga and bought a young Myōga plant from an online store. Australian extreme heat nearly killed it, but it has recovered from some saved roots. Today I finally made ‘Kenbikiyaki’ and this made me extremely nostalgic.

Hiroko Liston @hirokoliston

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Ingredients

4 Pieces

80 gPlain Flour *20g per piece
1 pinchSalt
100 mlBoiling Water *25ml per piece
4heaped-tablespoons Sweet Azuki Paste *Tsubu-an OR Koshi-an
'Tsubu-an' (Sweet 'Azuki' Paste)
4Myōga Leaves *washed and trimmed into the right size if too large
*Note: You can cook ‘Kenbikiyaki’ without Myōga Leaves, just like this ‘Oyaki’
Oil for cooking

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Steps

1

Wash Myōga leaves and trim into the right size if too large. Roll Sweet Azuki Paste into balls, so that it would be easy to wrap.
2

Place Flour and Salt in a bowl, mix to blend, add Boiling Water, and stir to form a soft dough. *Note: Chopsticks are the best tool to stir.
3

Divide the dough into 4 even portions. Wet your hands with water because the dough is sticky, flatten each portion into a thin round on your hand, place a ball of Sweet Azuki Paste in centre, wrap with the dough, flatten slightly, then wrap with a Myōga leaf.
4

Heat a frying pan over medium low heat, thinly oil it, cook until nicely browned on both sides and dough is cooked. Covering with a lid would help the cooking process. *Today I cook each side for about 5 minutes.
5

When you eat it, unwrap the leaf, but it is OK to eat the leaf that is left on the cake.