This mushi yokan uses anko paste made with azuki red beans from Tokachi, Hokkaido, cooked to a moderate sweetness, and selected chestnuts. Mushi yokan, which is made by steaming a mixture of red bean paste and wheat flour without using agar-agar, boasts the longest history among all types of yokan. It’s characterized by the unique smooth, chewy texture. This mushi yokan is made by mixing red bean paste prepared by boiling and mashing the beans with wheat flour from Gifu Prefecture and sugar, then chestnuts are added before pouring the mixture into a mold and steaming. Sticking to the traditional handmade method, each chestnut is put by hand so every yokan is unique. The resulting mushi yokan has a springy texture and an exquisite balance between moderate sweetness and flavorful chestnuts with a soft texture.
In 1899, Minoya was originally founded as a senbei (rice cracker) shop in Sakamoto village in Ena (now Nasubigawa, Nakatsugawa City), Gifu Prefecture. Known as “Ichiro senbei” to the local people, the shop mainly sold senbei crackers by weight on the streets. Around 1935, the second generation began manufacturing Japanese sweets along the Nakasendo Road and Minoya came to be known as a “manju” shop selling Japan’s traditional sweet filled with red bean paste. To this day, the shop—now led by the fourth generation of the family—continues to sell traditional handmade Japanese sweets in Nakatsugawa City, which are all made in its own factory. With the concept of “a product that will make people happy,” Minoya strives to continue manufacturing traditional Japanese sweets to pass down the flavors of Japan on to the next generation.