🍱 Yaseuma (Thinly Rolled Out Flour Sprinkled with Roasted Soybean Flour )

“Yaseuma” is a traditional snack made with kneaded wheat flour, which is flattened and boiled, and sprinkled with kinako (=roasted soybean flour) and sugar. It is a popular local dish along with dango jiru (=dumpling soup), also from Oita, made with kneaded wheat flour and eaten with a barley miso-based soup. There is a trick to rolling out the dough, and it is said that the more experienced one is, the thinner and longer the dough can be rolled out. “Yaseuma” is said to have originated from Furuno of Yufu city of Oita. It is said that during the Heian period, a religious nanny named Yase, visited the Myorenji temple in Furuno to pray for the healthy growth of a noble young lord. On her way to the temple, the young lord became hungry and said to her, “Yase, uma,” which means, “Yase, food.” So Yase gave some thinly rolled out wheat flour sprinkled with kinako (=roasted soybean flour) to the young lord, which is how “yaseuma” is said to have gotten its name. At Myorenji temple, “yaseuma” is still made during the Bon holidays. Grain cultivation has been prevalent in Oita since ancient times and there are many local dishes made with wheat flour.