🍱 Barappa manju

"Barrappa Manju" has been made in the Hokuso region of Chiba Prefecture since ancient times and is eaten on special occasions such as summer festivals and Obon(=Buddhist festival for honoring the spirits of ancestors). Around the end of the wheat harvest season, wheat that has finished harvesting is ground into flour, and homemade sweet bean paste is used to make wheat steamed buns. When steaming the buns, "Barrappa"(= leaves of Smilax china: Japanese name: Sarutoriibara) are placed underneath, hence the name "Barrappa manju." The young leaves gathered in mid-June are pickled in salt. (They can also be dried in the shade and frozen.) "Sarutoriibara" is also called "Sankirai." This plant, which belongs to the lily family, is a deciduous climbing tree that obstructs and captures monkeys with thorns on its vines and fibrous roots extending from the base of its leaves, hence its name. The leaves are characterized by their round shape and smooth surface, making them suitable for wrapping manju. In addition to "Barrappa manju," there are also other Japanese sweets such as "Ibara-mochi" from Mie Prefecture that use "Sarutoriibara". In some regions of western Japan, leaves of Sarutori ibara are used as a substitute for oak leaves in "Kashiwa(=oak leaf)-mochi".