Oniman - Popular sweet potato bun in Tokai region

The other day, I introduced our local sweet “misoman.” It is an abbreviation of miso-manju that is literally means “miso (fermented soybeans) bun.” Manju is a traditional Japanese bun often stuffed with adzuki bean paste. But there are also other kinds of manju that contain some other stuffing or unique ingredients mixed in the dough.

Oni-manju or oniman is one of such manju without adzuki bean paste. According to Wikipedia, it is mainly seen in Aichi Prefecture and other prefectures (Gifu, Mie, Shizuoka) in Tokai region. Even in Hamamatsu, it is often sold in supermarkets. Basically, oniman is made of wheat flour or finer rice powder, sugar, and sweet potato. Diced sweet potato is mixed in the dough and steamed. Compared with oniman sold in supermarkets, I prefer those from confectionary stores, because they can be bigger and contain more dices of sweet potato. Today, I found a temporary confectionary stand selling nice-looking oniman and other traditionary sweets in the shopping mall Zaza City. I bought one home.

Oniman is a simple sweet loved by ordinary people, and I like its rough shape and natural sweetness of sweet potato. This one is a typical oniman and tasted as it should. Oni means a devil, and I heard it is called oniman because the sweet potato dices sticking out of the bun remined people of the horns of devils. In old days, oniman was often made at home. I think it may be suitable to eat as a snack during the break in farm work because it is dense in texture and good to eat when you are hungry.

Though the original type of oniman is very simple, there are some variations these days. I have seen one stuffed with adzuki bean paste in a supermarket. In Nagoya, oniman is much more common than in Hamamatsu and sold in almost every Japanese-style confectionary store though its sales period varies depending on stores. Maybe autumn is the best season to look for most delicious oniman in Nagoya. But I still think the simplest oniman may be the best.